


Ghosting

by EpiphanyLilium



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Childhood Friends, Despair, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hope, M/M, Mystery, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29129802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpiphanyLilium/pseuds/EpiphanyLilium
Summary: Your second year in the Academy is about to begin when you encounter a mystery that leaves you confused and worried. You begin the solve the mystery with your childhood friend Korekiyo Shinguji and the rest of your friends, but what will transpire along the way?
Relationships: Shinguji Korekiyo/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 47





	1. Farewell to Summer

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to my first Danganronpa fanfiction! I told myself for years that I'll never write Danganronpa fanfiction, but here I go.
> 
> Just some general information about the fic:
> 
> \- This is a reader-insert, with the main love interest being Korekiyo Shinguji. Other ships between the V3 characters do appear, but are mostly not referred as actual relationships, more like hinting and teasing.  
> \- This is non-despair, no killing game, normal school AU. The fabricated past does not exist, meaning some things mentioned in the game never happened in this reality. You can figure out what I mean by reading the story.  
> \- I have tried to kept the reader-insert gender neutral, but there might me some slip ups. If that is the case, it is from the point of view of a female reader. Please comment down below if you notice these so I can fix them!  
> \- This story is rather dialogue-heavy, but not all of the dialogue is meaningless chit-chatter.  
> \- I don't have a set chapter publishing schedule as for now, but some of the chapters are already written and under editing.  
> \- I hope Korekiyo is not too OOC, but I had to imagine it from the point of view of non-despair, which does change some things in my opinion.. I hope he's still rather recognizable!  
> \- (Y/N) naturally means "your name", so feel free to mentally insert your or your oc's name into those slots.

This summer had gone by faster than any other summer before. It was as if one day you were waving goodbye to all of your friends and the next you were looking for new school supplies and clothes in the nearby mall. Summers can never last long enough. 

For the better or the worse, you were excited to return to the school, as you were attending a rather prestigious academy. Last year you had made friends with the most of your classmates even though they were a rather peculiar bunch. Nearly all of them you had only met last year when you had first begun school, safe for one student. The quiet, mysterious Korekiyo, whom some of your classmates deemed creepy, you had known since you were young. You had helped him to cope after the death of his sickly sister, and he had been there for you in all of your troubles and sorrows. You knew his reputation, but you didn’t particularly care.

Sadly, as it often happens with many elementary and middle school friends, you had drifted apart within the last year. Not that you had gotten into a fight or didn’t enjoy each other’s company, but you had made friends with so many new people while Korekiyo had struggled to connect with the most students and the academy expected only the best from it’s students, so the both of you had been swarmed with plenty of school work.

You arrived at the academy a bit earlier than you had intended, but you paid it no mind; you were just so buzzed to catch up with all of your friends! The halls were still empty, creating a rather spooky atmosphere, but you could already hear a familiar sound lingering down the corridor. You followed the soft sound, knowing exactly what it’s source was.

You peeked through the music class’ door and saw one of your friends, Kaede, a talented pianist, playing a familiar piece by Debussy. Unable to contain your excitement, you rushed towards the fair-haired figure.

“Kaede! I’m so happy to see you again! How was your summer?” You squealed and wrapped your arms around Kaede’s shoulders. She stopped playing, letting out a giggle, as she touched your hands affectionately.

“Hi! I’ve missed you!” She grinned and turned to look at you with a wide smile on her face, “I’ve mostly been practicing the piano, but I also visited Austria. I visited Mozart’s birthplace in Salzburg and Schubert’s birthplace in Vienna. It was amazing!” Kaede gushed about her passion to classical music, her voice laced with excitement. 

“You must show me some pictures!” You laughed and wondered why you hadn’t heard about the trip before. Must have slipped your mind.

“Didn’t I send you any? Huh, that’s strange..” Kaede blinked slowly, “Silly me! I’ll send you some pictures after school, promise!” She laughed it off, scratching her head sheepishly. 

“Pinky promise?” You chuckled, offering her your pinky finger. Kaede smiled back, joining her pinky finger with yours.

“Pinky promise!” She said before glancing at the clock on the wall, “The others should be arriving soon. Let’s go and see them!” Kaede continued, standing up from the piano stool. You nodded and made your way out of the classroom together with Kaede.

…

“(Y/N)!” You heard someone yell and a pair of tanned arms wrapped around your shoulders from behind, “Blessed be in the name of Atua!” 

“Angie, hi!” You smiled, shaking your head slightly at your friend’s antics. Angie was clearly an eccentric one, but you knew she never meant any harm with her affinity for Atua.

“Atua wants to know what you did during the summer!” Angie cheered as she came to stand beside you, tilting her head in a childish manner, a bright smile on her face. 

“Oh, I..” You tried to reminisce your summer holiday, but instead a banging pain attacked your head, blurring your vision for a split second. You reached to touch your temple, puzzled by the sudden headache, “You know, the usual.. Going to the beach and the park, festivals and playing video games..” You managed to mutter in-between the pulsations of agony. 

“Do you happen to have a headache, (Y/N)?” A smooth voice asked from the left side of you. You hadn’t even realized that a new person had joined your party. You turned to look at the newcomer, having to look up in order to meet the golden eyes. 

“Oh, Kiyo! I didn’t even hear you arriving..” You tried to slip him a small smile. Korekiyo nodded, a look of worry on his face. Not that anyone else would’ve been able to tell it apart from his usual expression. You just knew him well enough to read most of his emotions, “Yeah, my head feels like it’s about to explode..” You sighed, rubbing your temples.

Korekiyo rummaged through his briefcase for a moment and offered you a pill, “Here. It is a painkiller. You should feel better in less than half an hour if you take it immediately.” Korekiyo looked down at you.

“Thanks Kiyo..” You mumbled and took the pill into your hand, “Uh, does anyone happen to have any water?” You asked around, glancing at your friends. 

“I heard you needed some water, (Y/N)?” Kirumi joined the conversation, handing you her water bottle. You nodded and quickly downed the painkiller. 

“Thanks Kirumi, I knew I could count on you..” You smiled weakly at the young woman you would easily nominate as the mother of your group, “And thanks again, Kiyo, it’s..” You turned back to look at Korekiyo, but he was gone. Typical. He rarely hangs out with the rest of your friends, preferring to talk with you one-on-one. 

Kirumi was followed by the rest of your friends, one by one. Gonta offered you all big bear hugs, gushing about all the bugs he had seen during the summer. Rantaro casually waved his hand as he arrived, wearing a new cool jacket on top of his school uniform. Tenko was giving sleepy Himiko a piggy back ride. Shuichi, Kaito and Maki arrived at the same time, joining your group. Maki was complaining to Kaito about him running late, like she had done so many times before during your first year. Kokichi had left his backpack home, claiming that he had sold it on the dark web for one million yen. Miu showcased her newest invention that helped her to get away with dress code regulations, Tsumugi told about all the conventions she had visited and Kiibo about all the new information he had learned. The last person to join your group was Ryoma, who just nodded, hands in his pockets.

“Hi Ryoma! How was your summer?” You asked cheerfully with a smile on your face, but Ryoma didn’t even meet your eyes before turning to talk to Rantaro. Confused and slightly offended, you looked at the rest of your friends with a questioning look.

“Didn’t you hear? Ryoma’s grandfather passed away. He doesn’t really want to talk about it..” Shuichi explained with a stern expression. Your eyes widened in shock. You had completely forgotten about that.

“Oh! I’m so sorry Ryoma, I didn’t mean to bring that up..” You apologized to Ryoma, but instead of answering to you, he just whispered something to Rantaro while shaking his head and walking away, “Wha..” You gasped, your voice shaky. 

“I’m sure he’s not mad at you, (Y/N)! You know how he is.. He’s just not in a good mood, I’m sure of it!” Tsumugi comforted you, adjusting her glasses. 

“That’s how a typical degenerate men behave! They run away from all emotional confrontations that may make them look weak!” Tenko reminded you, rolling her eyes.

“Gonta once cried after he found a dying butterfly..” Gonta sighed, looking utterly defeated at the memory, “After it passed, Gonta held it a funeral.” 

“See, Tenko? Some men are not afraid to show their sensitive side! Real heroes are not afraid to cry!” Kaito held a thumbs up and grinned.

“I’m sure Ryoma just needs more time before he’s ready to talk about it. Don’t fret over it, (Y/N).” Maki nodded her head, her face unreadable.

“Yeah, I guess so..” You sighed, looking at the direction Ryoma had gone off to before shaking your head. 

…

But Ryoma didn’t talk to you for the rest of the day, either. Not that you tried to talk to him as you wanted him to come to you when he was ready, but nevertheless you were still disappointed when he hadn’t approached you by the end of the day. 

You decided to go to the school library to pick up some course books before going home. The events of the day still in your head, you walked in just to see a familiar face behind the desk.

“Kiyo! What are you doing here?!” You gasped loudly. Korekiyo put his index finger to where his mouth would’ve been, shushing you quietly, “Why are you behind the librarian’s desk?” You asked more quietly this time.

“I am assisting the school librarian this semester. I will get extra credit from it. I spend a lot of my free time here anyway so I thought it would be a good idea.” Korekiyo explained in a low voice. 

“This job is the perfect fit for you.” You smiled weakly and walked to the shelves. Korekiyo followed you like a shadow. 

“Did your headache subside?” He asked, putting away some books while conversing with you.

“Yes, thank you for the painkiller again..” You answered gratefully and absentmindedly picked up some books just to put them back, deep in your thoughts.

“Is something amiss?” Korekiyo prodded carefully, eyeing you discreetly.

“Um, well..” You thought for a moment before sighing, “Ryoma hasn’t spoken to me at all today. I guess he got annoyed with me in the morning and well, I just feel bad about my insensitivity and lack of memory..”

“Did you ask him about his late grandfather?” Korekiyo inquired and you nodded.

“Even you knew about it? But yeah.. I honestly didn’t remember.. I don’t know how I could have forgotten because Ryoma is my friend but.. I.. I guess the summer just went by so fast.” You looked down at your feet, guilt throbbing in your chest.

“I am sure Hoshi will come around. It is unlike him to hold such grudges.” Korekiyo consoled you, reaching out his hand to touch your shoulder but pulling away before he could reach you.

“That’s what everyone is saying.. I guess I should just give him more time..” You sighed and finally found the books you has been looking for, pulling them off the shelves. 

“(Y/N)..” Korekiyo whispered as you went to scan and loan the books. He still followed you, studying your movements and expressions with sharp eyes.

“Kiyo?” You asked while continuing to scan the books. 

“Would you like to visit me more often while I am working at the library? Not many people come to this place and I have not had the pleasure to spend much time with you lately.” Korekiyo asked, averting his gaze slightly when your eyes met his.

You stopped for a moment. It’s true that you haven’t really talked to Korekiyo properly in a long time while he still technically is one of your closest friends..

“Sure, I’d like that very much!” You grinned at Korekiyo and saw his eyes lighting up ever so slightly. 

“Splendid. I work on the weekdays from three to six. I hope to see you every so often.” Korekiyo sounded rather proper but the way he spoke was still so full of warmth, like a new soft sweater.

“Of course! I’ve missed hanging out with you like during the old days..” You admitted, remembering the days you would visit him after school or go to the playground together. It had been a long time since then, but you valued those memories nevertheless. 

“I feel the same way..” Korekiyo agreed and you could tell that behind his mask he was smiling. You returned a bright smile in his way as you packed the books into your backpack. It looked like he was about to say something else when a group of loud freshmen waltzed into the library. 

“Let our paths cross soon.. But now I have to go fulfill the duty given to me. Farewell, (Y/N).” Korekiyo slipped you an apologizing look as he headed towards the noisy freshmen.

“See you, Kiyo!” You shouted after him, quite a bit louder than you had intended. Korekiyo gave you an amused look over his shoulder as your face flushed red from the embarrassment. After that you quickly and silently headed out of the library, heading home afterwards


	2. Void-Of-Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You begin to investigate the reason for Ryoma's silence with your friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added the second chapter nearly right after the first one because I felt like the first chapter acted more as a base layer rather than an independent chapter, and it was also rather short. From now on I'll post less frequently though. 
> 
> (Trigger) warnings: Explicit language, "outing"

The sound of ringing bells caught your attention and you opened your eyes. Around you was only a heavy fog that shielded the rest of the world from your sight. You looked around, searching for anything familiar or safe, unable to find anything of that sort. Panic filled your mind as you took steps to an unknown direction, hoping to see or hear something, anything. 

Before long, you saw a small figure in the distance. At first you thought that someone was kneeling down, but soon you realized that you knew that frame. It was Ryoma. What was he doing here? Was he lost, too?

“Ryoma!” You shouted, your voice disappearing without an echo, like you were lost in the wilderness. Ryoma didn’t react to his name, but just stood still and unmoving. You tried to call out for him again, but to no avail. 

You continued your walk towards him, but the short distance seemed to last forever. After what felt like hours, you reached Ryoma. You could finally see what he was staring down at - an empty, deep hole on the ground. Big enough to fit a person. He had a sorrowful expression on his face, his dark eyes reflecting the darkness of the hole below. In his small hand, he was holding a dark blue rose, gripping tightly onto it like his life depended on it. 

“Ryoma, I’m so sorry for what I said earlier.. I didn’t think.. You have to listen to me!” You said to the short man, your body shaking slightly as the wind around you picked up. For a second it looked like Ryoma turned to look at you, but instead he seemed to be staring into the distance right beside you. 

“Please hear me out, Ryoma.. My condolences for your grandfather.. I can’t imagine how much you must be missing him..” You sighed, casting your gaze at the deep hole next to you. Ryoma turned to look at it as well, taking off his hat before dropping down the flower. You stared as the flower fell into the emptiness, swallowed by the darkness of the grave. 

_Were you reliving Ryoma’s memories of his grandfather’s funeral?_

_Was this Ryoma’s way to reach you without saying a word?_

Suddenly Ryoma opened his mouth and spoke out, “I miss you.. Why did you have to leave me just like everyone else?” He sobbed and dried his eyes quickly, holding back his tears. You just wanted to hug him, to tell him he’s going to be alright, but your feet didn’t budge and you suddenly felt awfully dizzy.

“Ryoma..” You managed to whisper silently, unable to tear your eyes away from the grave, “You’re never alone.. Remember that..” 

Ryoma’s face contorted into a small, bitter smile as he put his hat back on. He adjusted it for a second without saying a word. 

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t see you more often.. But.. Thank you for everything..” Ryoma spoke quietly before walking away from the empty hole. You wanted to run after him and ask him how to leave this creepy void, but you still couldn’t move. 

“Ryoma! Don’t leave me all alone! Help me!” You screamed after him, but Ryoma kept walking. As his figure disappeared from your sight, you woke up. 

…

The next day you were eating lunch in the cafeteria with some of your friends. 

“Did you hear that Kaede asked Shuichi on a date?” Kokichi conspired, a mischievous look on his face.

“What?! Really?! Finally!” Tsumugi clapped her hands together excitedly, letting out a long, dreamy sigh afterwards.

“I agree. This has been a long time coming.” Kiibo smiled proudly, sitting with his friends even though the tray in front of him was empty.

“Sike! She didn’t. I lied, my bad!” Kokichi grinned innocently.

“That seems like a weird thing to lie about..” You furrowed your eyebrows before taking a bite out of your lunch.

“I mean, she would’ve asked if I hadn’t messed with her plans..” Kokichi chuckled darkly, looking proud of himself.

“What did you do?!” Tsumugi screeched, her voice high-pitched and frankly rather annoying.

“Nothing much.. Just changed the letter’s time from 7 pm to 8 pm.. If Kaede really would’ve wanted to confess, she would’ve waited for that extra hour anyway! It was all a test!” Kokichi shook his head as if what he did was somehow justified.

“That’s mean, Kokichi!” Kiibo condemned Kokichi’s actions, glaring at the purple-haired short boy.

“Yeah yeah, you always seem to have the time of the day to judge me, robo cop!” Kokichi rolled his eyes playfully, causing Kiibo to gasp theatrically. 

“Hey, that’s robophobic!” He yelled, pointing his finger at Kokichi, who merely chuckled, proud of himself for being able to push Kiibo’s buttons so easily.

“You’re the most degenerate male I’ve ever met, Kokichi!” Tenko declared, glaring daggers at the mentioned man.

“Oh wooow, I’m so touched by that honor! Will you buy me a trophy? Will my name end up in the Guinness World Records? I can see the headlines already; Kokichi Oma, the most degenerate male ever!” Kokichi celebrated, his eyes shining and hand movements dramatic and animated.

“The only trophy you’ll get from me is a punch to your face!” Tenko challenged, ready to throw hands.

“Geez, I’m so scared now! What can I, a mere supreme leader, do against an Aikido Master?!” Kokichi gasped, grasping the front of his shirt as if he was choking, “Oh, as we’re talking about you Tenko, when will you ask Himiko out on a real date?” He continued adding fuel to the fire.

“Ehhh?!” Tenko screamed, taken aback by Kokichi’s sudden comment.

“Nyeh?” Himiko, who had been snoozing off this entire time next to Tenko, finally contributed to the conversation.

“I.. You.. Kokichi Oma, what are you talking about?!” Tenko finally managed to speak, her face nearly the same shade as Himiko’s hair. 

“C’mon, we all know that you play for the other team. Just fess up. There’s no reason to hide in the closet when it’s so painfully obvious!” Kokichi stuck out his tongue, “No one’s judging you, you know!”

“Correct me if I’m mistaken, but can’t Kokichi’s words be considered some form of outing? And isn’t that extremely rude?” Kiibo asked matter-of-factly.

“Kinda, yeah, I guess..” You agreed, nodding your head slowly.

“I was just playing around! Like I always do! No harm done!” Kokichi tried to defend himself.

“It’s fine..” Tenko mumbled quietly, hanging her head low. Everyone turned to look at her, worried about her reaction. Tenko took a deep breath before meeting everyone’s curious eyes with a determined look on her face, “Look, if I like Himiko it’s because she’s Himiko and not because of her gender. There’s no reason to speculate someone’s sexual orientation because no matter what their sexuality is, it’s all the same - they’re all feelings. Straight love is love. Gay love is love. And love is wonderful! It’s the driving force that keeps us going! Every morning I wake up I look in the mirror and smile knowing that I exist because of love and that loving someone with the same passion one day can help me achieve anything I set my mind to!” Tenko had a long monologue, her wide smile not faltering even once.

“That was so inspirational, Tenko!” Tsumugi applauded Tenko, her eyes slightly gleaming.

_Love.. You wonder if anyone has ever loved you the way Tenko describes love to be like._

“My research on love has concluded that love towards the person of the opposite and the same gender release the same amount of the same hormones. So who you love doesn’t differentiate the way your brain reacts. That’s why I think discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community is wrong and irrational in every possible sense.” Kiibo nodded along.

_Has your existence ever caused someone’s brain to release those hormones associated with falling in love?_

“Kiibo and Tenko really said gay rights!” Kokichi clapped, drying his eyes as if he had been crying, “For your information, I wholeheartedly agree. Even I’m not bad enough to condemn someone because of their love! I don’t understand how anyone would do that..”

“So.. Himiko..” Tenko gulped and turned to face her mage friend, blush creeping up on her cheeks again as she laid her eyes on Himiko.

“Nyeh?” Himiko blinked slowly, looking up at her friend.

“Himiko is really giving all of her best lines right now..” Kokichi whispered to you.

“Shh..” you hushed him, curious to hear what Tenko had to say.

“So, Himiko.. I know we’re friends and all but.. I feel like I haven’t been completely frank with you.. And it’s not fair. It’s not fair for me to know what I know without letting you know.. Himiko, I.. I like you! As more than a friend! Doyouwanttogooutwithmesometime?!” Tenko’s last words were all mumbled up and she hid her face with her hands, waiting for Himiko’s answer. A silence befell to the table and it felt as if the entire cafeteria was following their conversation.

“...” Himiko blinked with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape before turning into an adorable smile, “I’d love to go on a date with you, Tenko!” She accepted, her cheeks tinted with pink.

“Ah! You’re so cute, Himiko! You’re my angel!” Tenko screeched excitedly and enveloped Himiko in a tight hug. Himiko returned the hug, burying her head into Tenko’s shoulder.

“All’s well that ends well! Congratulations to you two!” Tsumugi whooped timidly.

“And I, Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Matchmaker, have saved the day yet again! Remember to thank me in the wedding speeches!” Kokichi grinned but no one paid him any attention, causing him to pout, “Next on my list to ship is.. (Y/N)!”

“W-What?! Me?! But no one—“ You stuttered, your face blooming bright and brilliant red. Before you could continue, a voice cut you off.

“Oh, hello Kiibo, Himiko, Tenko, Tsumugi and Kokichi. How are you doing today?” Kirumi arrived at the table, bowing her head in a mild manner.

“Sup! I just lead two lost hearts to each other!” Kokichi laughed.

“The only thing you did was putting me in an uncomfortable position!” Tenko accused Kokichi, rolling her eyes.

“Tenko and I are going out! Yay!” Himiko cheered, causing Tenko to squeal and squeeze her.

“My robophobic comments of the day counter is unfortunately at one thanks to Kokichi.” Kiibo sighed and shrugged.

“Hi Kirumi, what about y—“ You shrugged off the fact that Kirumi had not mentioned your name but were flabbergasted when Kirumi cut your sentence off. The Kirumi you knew would never cut anyone off!

“I’m so pleased for the two of you. I hope your future is prosperous. Kokichi, knock off with the robophobic comments.” Kirumi replied, looking at everyone else but you.

“Yeeeees mom…” Kokichi sighed sarcastically.

“Kirumi, sit down with us until the end of the lunch! We want to hear about your day!” Tsumugi smiled at Kirumi, who merely shook her head apologetically.

“I’m afraid I have other matters to attend to. My apologies. I’ll catch up with you guys later. Now, if you excuse me..” Kirumi curtsied before heading off hurriedly.

“Bye Kirumi!” Tenko waved her off, still beaming from the previous events.

“Didn’t you notice anything off in Kirumi’s actions?” Kiibo suddenly inquired, eyeing you with slight worry.

“What do you mean?” Tsumugi asked, confused.

“She completely disregarded (Y/N). It’s strange. I’ve never seen Kirumi act like that towards anyone..” Kiibo explained and you were secretly relieved to know it wasn’t all in your head.

“(Y/N)! What have you done to anger mom? Did you refuse to clean your room?! Did you come home after the curfew?!” Kokichi gasped.

“What, no! I…” You went quiet, thinking back to your actions and conversations with Kirumi, “I don’t know what I’ve done or said.. Maybe she feels annoyed that I drank from her water bottle? But then again, she herself offered it to me..” You thought out loud, trying to make sense of Kirumi’s odd behavior.

“That seems unlikely.. Unless you gave her herpes or something..” Tenko shook her head thoughtfully.

“Giving herpes through sharing a water bottle has extremely low odds.. And Kirumi’s lips didn’t look infected, neither does (Y/N)’s..” Tsumugi chimed in, tapping her chin absentmindedly. 

“I don’t have herpes!” You yelled defensively before realizing what you had shouted, covering your mouth quickly. You could sense many curious pairs of eyes on you.

“Wow, someone has finally lost their fucking virginity!” You heard a familiar feminine sound from afar. Miu Iruma. You saw the self-proclaimed girl genius making her way towards your table, hands on her hips, confidently, “What’s this talk about herpes I’m hearing about? Does (Y/N) have some disease?” Miu laughed and you hid your face deeper in your hands, embarrassed. 

“No, we were merely discussing why Kirumi ignored (Y/N)’s existence earlier..” Kiibo shushed, alerting Miu to lower her voice. Miu sat down at the free chair, engaged by the conversation.

“Maybe an evil mage has lifted a curse on (Y/N)! Maybe it’s maaagic! And if it’s a curse, I can counter it with my magic… Right after I’ve regained my mana..” Himiko smiled sheepishly.

“Who would curse (Y/N)? And why?” Tsumugi questioned Himiko carefully.

“Maybe it’s Korekiyo! That guy’s creepy anyway, into some weird shit and probably salty that (Y/N) doesn’t spend much time with him anymore!” Kokichi suggested with a surprisingly serious expression.

“No.. Kiyo would never do something like that! And he’s not a magician, he’s an anthropologist..” You shook your head, not believing that Korekiyo would curse you.. Better yet, that he knew magic.

“Not a magician.. A mage.. Like me..” Himiko corrected you before letting out a long yawn.

“Hmm..” Miu hummed thoughtfully, running her hand through her long blonde hair, “Maybe Ryoma’s been talking some shit about you because of yesterday and that’s why Kirumi wants to avoid you? I dunno..” Miu shrugged. 

“R-Ryoma? Talking shit? I.. He wouldn’t do that.. Right?” You shook your head yet again, confused and genuinely worried that there were some nasty rumors spreading around you in the school.

“Who knows what that guy really thinks? Maybe he really is mad at you.. He’s quite close with Kirumi anyway. If he were to talk to anyone from this group about his hurt feelings, it’d be her or maybe Rantaro..” Miu sighed with a bored expression.

“Would Kirumi really believe any rumors? She’s sensible. She would know what’s real and what’s fake..” Kiibo asked suspiciously, challenging Miu’s theory. 

“That’s the only explanation my genius golden brain can come up with! Take it or leave it! I just think Ryoma is really sus in this situation!” Miu slammed her hand on the table.

“Where’s Ryoma, anyway? I kinda want to talk to him..” You asked and looked around the cafeteria for the short man. You couldn’t spot him anywhere but then again, he was kind of a loner and hard to spot in a crowd due to his height.

“He’s not in school today!” Tenko reminded the group of Ryoma's absence. 

“A-ha! Guilty as charged! He’s feeling bad so he stayed home in the fear of fallout! Or maybe him and Kirumi are fucking and that’s why she left in such a hurry!” Miu grinned victoriously, sure that her theory was now confirmed.

“Yeah! They’re totally fucking! If Ryoma is fucking mom, can I call Ryoma daddy now?!” Kokichi asked in awe, his eyes shining. 

“So crude! How is that related to this topic anyway?” Tsumugi yelped, looking uncomfortable with the current topic.

“I don’t know! Ask the cum dumpster who brought it up! She knows what she's talking about!” Kokichi chuckled, kicking his legs wildly underneath the table.

“C-C-Cum dumpster! Eeek!” Miu’s whole behavior suddenly changed from confident to meek, her cheeks flushing. 

“We’re getting off-track here! Concentrate, you two.” Kiibo attempted to get the situation under control. 

“It’s okay, Kiibo.. That’s enough.. I don’t want to talk about this anymore..” You sighed, defeated. Everyone around the table turned to look at you, silence falling over the group. 

“Are you okay?” Himiko broke the silence quietly, fiddling with her fingers awkwardly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.. I just don’t want to hear it anymore.. It’s all so much and no one has the answers..” You shook your head, staring at the wooden table as if it was the most interesting piece of art you’ve ever seen.

“We can stop discussing this if that’s what you want..” Kiibo assured you and you nodded gratefully.

“Yeah, let’s just leave it. Thank you for sticking up for me though, Kiibo.” You smiled at the robot weakly and he nodded back at you.

“If Miu’s theory is proven to be true, I’ll have a long conversation with that degenerate Ryoma! I’ll defend your honor!” Tenko promised you and you let out a weak laugh.

“Thanks Tenko..” You hummed and surprisingly felt a bit better. 

“And I’ll use my magic to teach him a lesson!” Himiko added, puffing her cheeks.

"And I'll educate him on the dangers of bullying and bad-mouthing!" Kiibo promised you with a smile.

“And I’ll.. I’ll look at him as scarily as I can!” Tsumugi adjusted her glasses and gave her best expression of a menacing stare. A shiver ran down your spine. 

“And I’ll give him a little remodeling!” Miu declared, a wicked grin on her face. 

“And I’ll call Ryoma daddy! I’m sure he’d want to crawl in a hole and hide after I call him that! No one wants me to call them daddy!” Kokichi grinned boyishly. 

“Kokichi..” Kiibo began to scold him but was cut off by a sudden giggle coming from you.

“Thank you all.. Really. Even you, Kokichi. I know your heart is in the right place even if you say the most messed up things sometimes..” You couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. The others joined your laughter, one by one.

“My heart really is not in the right place, my liver and heart have actually exchanged places, but thank you for the sentiment!” Kokichi said in-between his bursts of laughter. You knew that was an obvious lie, but didn’t point it out.

“Hey, if this really bothers you, maybe you should have a talk with Rantaro.. He may know if Ryoma’s been talking about you..” Miu gave you some valid advice and you just nodded, grateful to your friends.

…

You were just about to leave the school when you spotted familiar light green hair in the distance. You had kept your watchful eye out for Rantaro but hadn’t seen him after lunch at all. Now was your chance to confront Rantaro and ask him some burning questions!

“Rantaro! Wait up!” You shouted as you began to sprint towards the young man. Rantaro stopped on his tracks and turned around to face you, a polite smile on his face.

“(Y/N)! What’s up?” He asked once you reached him, waving his hand nonchalantly.

“I’m alright, what about you?” You smiled back at Rantaro, trying to make some small talk before asking the hard-hitting questions.

“I’m good. Just had PE class. Our team totally beat the other.” Rantaro explained, running his hand through his slightly moist hair. You secretly wished you would look this cool and unbothered after PE class..

“Oh, that’s cool! Look, Rantaro, do you—“ You were about to ask the question burning in your mind when something else caught your eye, “Wait, Rantaro, you have a new piercing?!” You yelled and pointed at the silver septum you noticed him sporting.

“Well, yeah! I got it over a month ago. Didn’t you know?” Rantaro laughed, slightly taken aback from your lack of memory.

“Oh, I guess I didn’t pay attention to it before.. Looks sick though! It really suits you!” You complimented him but in your head you were starting to freak out. You’ve been forgetting about a lot of stuff lately.. Kaede’a trip, Ryoma’s grandfather and now Rantaro’s piercing..

“Thanks!” Rantaro thanked you with a smile before looking slightly worried, “You ok? You went all quiet..”

“Oh? Yeah, I’m fine! I’ve just been a tad forgetful lately,” you assured Rantaro and forced a cheerful smile, “Actually Rantaro, can I ask you about something I’ve had in my mind all day..?”

“Sure, ask ahead!” Rantaro nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, I just wondered.. Has Ryoma been saying anything about me? I think I annoyed him yesterday and now Kirumi ignores me and well, Miu suggested that Ryoma has been talking to her and possibly you about me.. In a negative way, you know?” You asked nervously, biting the inside of your cheek and staring at the floor.

“Huh? No.. Ryoma has not said anything like that about you, at least not to me..” Rantaro answered, looking confused.

“Oh! Well, that’s good to hear, I guess..” You yelped, slightly surprised by his answer. You had managed to convince yourself that Ryoma indeed did hate you during these hours after the lunch. 

“I can talk to Ryoma and Kirumi though if you want.. Ask them what’s up. Would that make you feel less troubled?” Rantaro suggested and your face broke into a relieved, bright smile.

“Yeah, I think that would make me feel a lot better!” You grinned and wrapped your arms around Rantaro for a few seconds, Thank you so much Rantaro!”

“Anytime,” Rantaro laughed and squeezed you back gently, “Anything to help out my friend. It’s gonna be alright, (Y/N)!” He added in a comforting tone while looking into your eyes.

“You’re a great friend, Rantaro..” You sighed and felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off your shoulders.

“You’re a good friend too. Never forget that..” Rantaro returned the compliment before looking at his phone, “Oh, look at the time! I have to go. I’ll try and talk to Ryoma and Kirumi today..”

“Okay, thank you again!” You smiled and you two waved a goodbye to each other, going your separate ways.

After that brief encounter with Rantaro, you felt a lot better about yourself and the events of the first days of school. As you caught yourself in a good mood, you decided to pay Korekiyo a visit at the library, eager to tell him the good news. You entered the library silently, noticing that it was empty.

_Strange.. Didn’t Korekiyo say he would be here every weekday?_

You walked around the library, looking for your long-haired friend. Suddenly one of the books on the display table caught your attention. You picked it up, reading the title. 

_Death: The Ultimate Orgasm._ That’s a weird book title.. Why would they have that in the school library’s collections? You flipped the book around to read it’s backside, confused. 

“Ah, (Y/N).. What a splendid surprise to see you back here so soon,” A voice rang out behind you, making you jump. You flipped around, coming face to face with the friend you had been looking for earlier, your face slightly tinted with crimson, “Missed me already?” Korekiyo teased you with a sly look. 

“Kiyo! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” You scolded the tall man, who merely chuckled at your reaction, “I was looking for you.. I wanted to update you on the Ryoma situation..” You tried to discreetly put the book back to the display case without showing which book it is to Korekiyo. 

“Hm? Did you manage to talk to Hoshi?” Korekiyo asked politely while suddenly looking somewhere behind you. He read the book title and cocked his eyebrows at you playfully, “What an interesting book choice, (Y/N). I did not know you were into those topics..” He teased you as your face flushed. You really couldn’t hide much from Korekiyo, now could you?

“It’s not like that! I just saw it and was confused why a school library would hold a book like this..” You quickly explained yourself, unable to hide your embarrassment. There was a look in Korekiyo’s eyes that you couldn’t quite place.. 

“It is quite alright. I was just merely teasing you,” Korekiyo smiled under his mask after a brief silence. You let out a breath you had been unconsciously holding in, “What about the situation with Hoshi?” He asked, letting you off the hook.

“Oh! Well, he wasn’t in the school today, but I just ran into Rantaro and he said he could talk to him!” You explained excitedly to Korekiyo.

“That is good. I am sure Amami will be able to tell you what is going on in Hoshi’s head,” Korekiyo nodded agreeably. He let out an awkward cough after a moment of silence, “Now, color me curious, but.. What happened in the cafeteria? I could not help but overhear some of the.. Louder conversation.” 

You thought back for a moment before realization hit you, “Wait, you were at the cafeteria? Why didn’t you join us?” You asked your friend, not enjoying the thought of him eating all alone. 

“Yes, I came to the cafeteria around the same time Tojo joined your conversation momentarily. I did not want to disturb your lunch and I thought Tojo might join your table, so I stayed back. Anyway, Iruma joined you soon after so the table was full anyway.” Korekiyo explained, his expression rather unreadable. 

“You could’ve pulled out an extra chair! Please, join me in the future if we ever go to the cafeteria at the same time!” You smiled warmly at Korekiyo. 

“I am fine.. I would not want to creep out your friends any more as I already do..” Korekiyo sighed, shaking his head slowly. 

“If only you hung out with us more, they would see that you’re not creepy at all! I’m positive most of them would welcome you into the group!” You tried to encourage your friend, but he remained stubborn.

“No, no, that is not necessary.. I am fine eating alone. Do not worry about me.” Korekiyo smiled at your concern, although you could tell a small part of him felt slightly upset. But you also knew he wouldn’t give in so easily, so you just dropped the topic for now.

“So what did you overhear from our conversation?” You asked, your curiosity piqued.

“Well, I could not help but overhear your scream and Iruma’s loud comment following..” Korekiyo suddenly looked a bit awkward, tapping the floor with his feet. You thought for a moment before remembering, your face suddenly feeling hot again. 

“H-Herpes and virginity?! It’s not what it sounds like, I swear..!” You yelled and Korekiyo gave you a stern look. You remembered that you were at the library and clasped your mouth, “Tenko just suggested that the reason Kirumi ignored me was that I gave her herpes from our shared water bottle, but that’s not the case.. Even Tsumugi said giving herpes from sharing a water bottle is unlikely.. And even if it was likely, I don’t have herpes or any other diseases.. You know Miu. She makes everything sexual..” You explained in a quiet tone, feeling a bit uncomfortable in doing so.

“I understand. I guess I was just rather surprised by the situation, but your explanation does make sense.” Korekiyo admitted and you noted that his body language seemed rather stiff. He must’ve felt a bit uncomfortable as well.

“Been thinking a lot about my virginity, huh?” You winked playfully; it was your time to tease your friend, who remained quiet for a moment too long to sound completely convincing.

“Of course not.” He cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly. You could swear he was blushing slightly, but it was hard to tell with his mask covering most of his face.

“Did you overhear anything else?” You asked, trying to get rid of the awkward air between the two of you.

“Hm, just the fact that your friend Oma does not seem to be my biggest fan,” Korekiyo shrugged, “It is hard not to overhear when someone mentions your name in a conversation. Thank you for standing up for me though.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry that you had to hear that.. Don’t take it too personally, Kokichi can be a bit harsh towards everyone.. That’s just his style. I’m sure he’d change his mind about you if he got to know you!” You comforted Korekiyo, resting your hand on his shoulder. You could feel how tense his muscles were. 

“I do not know about that.. But it is quite alright. I understand where he was coming from. I hold no grudges,” Korekiyo smiled down at you, his eyes softening up a bit, “But you do know that I would never do such a thing? To curse you or.. Hurt you some other way. You are a dear friend of mine.” 

“Of course! I trust you, Kiyo,” You beamed at Korekiyo, happy that you’ve been able to reconnect with him more, “You’re important to me, too! And that’s why I strongly encourage you to join me more often during school. I like all of my friends, but you’re still my oldest friend and I feel bad seeing you all alone..” You sigh and let you hand caress down his arm before letting go. Korekiyo followed your hand with his eyes closely.

“I..” He breathed, blinking slowly before starting to smile underneath his mask, “I will consider it.” He finally said, his stiff body visibly relaxing. 

“I’m glad you’re even giving it a second thought!” You laughed, your laughter echoing in the empty library. This time Korekiyo didn’t even shush you, instead just smiling and slightly shaking his head, snickering. 

Soon after that you left the library as you had a lot of homework to do, but promised Korekiyo you would come to see him again rather sooner than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave comments down below! And kids, don't do what Kokichi did in this chapter, okay? Much love and support to you all! :)


	3. Canvas Coping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are taking an art class with your friends. What kind of emotions can painting bring forth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back with another chapter. I don't think this chapter really has triggers, butt feel free to comment if any of the themes felt triggering to you. I'm not always the best at picking up these things as I mainly write about darker themes and it's all so normal and natural to me. 
> 
> Also the title of this chapter is kind of dumb, but then again, why *couldn't* we start calling art therapy canvas coping? ;) 
> 
> (F/C) means favorite color.

The next day you had art class with some of your classmates. Those classmates included Angie, Maki, Kaito, Kaede, Gonta and Rantaro.. Although it did seem that Rantaro was running late as he was nowhere to be found.

Art classes with Angie always made you feel a bit inadequate as she was the such a talented artist, but you still liked the chill and free-spirited atmosphere of the art classes. Your teacher usually let you do whatever you wanted to within the daily theme and talk to your friends in the process, which was a nice contrast to some of the more uptight and serious teachers you had.

Today your theme was to make a piece that reminded you of someone you cared about, whether it was a friend, a family member, a lover or a deceased loved one. You all decided to paint on canvas so you could all be huddled close together and talk while you were painting. 

Right before you were about to start, you felt a pair of eyes on you. You turned around and noticed that Korekiyo was also taking the class. With a smile on your face, you excused yourself from the group and strolled towards your friend, a plan in mind. You were rather sure that Angie, Gonta, Kaito and Kaede were all nice enough to welcome Korekiyo into the group and make him feel welcome and that as long as Kaito accepted Korekiyo, Maki would do so as well.

“Hi Kiyo! I didn’t know you were going to take this class, too!” You smiled at Korekiyo who nodded at you with a soft smile.

“Hello (Y/N). I did not take art last year so I decided to give it a go this year. I am afraid my creative skills are rather rusty, but there is such beauty in expressing yourself through art that I want to cultivate the creative side of my brain.” Korekiyo explained, shuffling with his art supplies.

“Do you want to join us? We chose to paint and well, you can just move your easel next to ours if you want to hang out with us!” You proposed your idea to Korekiyo, who eyed your friend group with hesitation, “Oh, they’re all really nice! Maki can be a bit slow to warm up and a bit intimidating, but as long as you manage to get on Kaito’s good side, which is not that hard, she’ll be alright!”

“Are you sure they would be okay with me joining them?” He asked quietly, thoughtfully caressing his long locks.

“Yeah, of course! Angie, Gonta, Kaede and Kaito are all little sunshines who would be delighted to get to know a new friend!” You laughed, trying to convince your friend. 

“And.. You would be fine with me joining too, I assume?” Korekiyo made sure politely, not wanting to tread on anyone’s toes. 

“I wouldn’t have asked you in the first place if I didn’t, silly Kork!” You giggled and grabbed an extra easel, ready to carry it to the group. 

“K.. Kork..?” Korekiyo mumbled, but chuckled in his normal way soon after, “Kukuku.. Alright, you have managed to convince me. But if you ever change your mind, just let me know..” 

“I won’t! C’mon, let’s go!” You walked full steam ahead, back towards your friend group, Korekiyo on your tow, “I’m back! Can Kiyo join our little art group?” You made sure from your friends and they all turned to look at you.

“Hello Korekiyo! Gonta likes to meet new friends!” Gonta beamed at Korekiyo, waving his large hand at him and managing to splatter paint everywhere, “Oops! Gonta sorry!” 

“Yeah, of course Korekiyo can join us! He’s your friend so he is ours, too!” Kaede clapped her hands together excitedly. 

“Heck yeah! The more the merrier, right, Maki Roll?!” Kaito grinned and wrapped his arm around Maki’s shoulder. Maki’s body tensed up under Kaito’s touch and she instantly began to play with her pigtails.

“I guess so...” Maki mumbled and looked away, but didn’t seem particularly bothered by Korekiyo’s presence either.

“Atua welcomes everyone with open arms, and so do I as His divine vessel! Let us bond over art and shared friendships!” Angie finally said, her eyes shining like clusters of stars. 

“Told you that they’re all so nice!” You grinned at Korekiyo and settled down his easel, right next to yours. 

“Thank you all. You may call me Kiyo as I know that my full name can be a bit difficult to pronounce.” Korekiyo smiled carefully at the group, trying to look as little intimidating as he could. He took out his art supplies, measuring up the canvas in front of him with precision.

“Sure thing, Kiyo!” Kaede smiled with friendly warmth.

“Thank you, Akamats-” Korekiyo began but Kaede cut him off quickly.

“Don’t be so proper, Kiyo! You don’t have to call us by our surnames especially if we get to call you by a nickname. Just call me Kaede!” She laughed, her laughter sounding like a bell. 

“If you say so... Kaede.” Korekiyo said carefully, testing the waters. Kaede nodded to him encouragingly, holding thumbs up. Kiyo slipped her a small smile.

As you began painting, you could occasionally feel Korekiyo’s eyes on you. You assumed he was feeling a bit awkward so you didn’t say anything about it but just concentrated on painting. You talked idly with the group, sharing some gossip and talking about what’s going on in the world. You were glad to see Korekiyo joining the conversation as well occasionally, sharing interesting facts and stories from his trips and field work in anthropology. Everyone seemed to be getting along swimmingly. 

After about half an hour, the classroom door opened. You all turned your eyes from the canvas to see Rantaro walking in, saying something to the teacher who just nodded and let him off scot-free. Rantaro picked up an easel and joined your group and you noted that he looked rather tired. His hair was a bit disheveled and there were dark bags under his green eyes. 

“Hi Rantaro! What’s up, my dude?” Kaito questioned Rantaro, who in return slipped him a small, tired smile.

“Nothing much... What’s today’s theme?” Rantaro asked, organizing his painting supplies hastily. 

“Someone dear to us. Like a friend, a family member, a lover, a deceased loved one..” Maki explained in a quiet, monotonous tone. For a second, Rantaro’s body froze and tensed up, his eyes getting that faraway look in them.

“Are you okay?” You asked Rantaro, who remained quiet, just staring blankly ahead. 

“Oh.. Alright. That’s... A sentimental theme.” Rantaro finally nodded, picking up his paintbrush but putting it down again after a second, sighing. 

“Why is Rantaro sad?” Gonta prodded, looking at Rantaro with compassionate eyes. 

“The theme just reminded me of.. Something. I’m okay though!” Rantaro gave Gonta his best attempt at a genuine smile.

“I understand. Art can sometimes be bittersweet, but please, take this as a form of coping and let the emotion you are experiencing at this moment spill onto those canvas. That is where the beauty of humanity lies.” Korekiyo spoke up, seemingly alerting Rantaro who looked at Korekiyo as if he had seen a ghost.

“Oh, Korekiyo! You’re here. I didn’t even notice,” Rantaro let out an awkward laugh, “But welcome to the group and thank you for your philosophical insight! I’ll try my best at conveying my emotions onto these canvas.”

“Kiyo, you have such profound and blessed thoughts about art! Atua would be the most pleased if you dedicated your wisdom to His name!” Angie complimented Korekiyo, who merely chuckled at the reaction.

The happiness in your chest bloomed as you looked at Korekiyo getting along with all of your friends so well. You felt like this should have happened way earlier, but better later than never! Looking at your friends, conversing with such ease and smiles plastered on their faces, made you feel both happy and strangely sad, longing. You couldn’t quite explain the feeling, so you just brushed it off. 

By the end of the lesson, you decided to take a look onto everyone else’s paintings. Obviously Angie’s painting was by far the best, looking so realistic and professionally made. There’s nothing less you could expect from her. 

“Can I ask what your painting represents?” You asked Angie who beamed back at you.

“Atua, of course!” Angie cheered energetically.

“Is this what Atua looks like?” Korekiyo joined your conversation with keen interest, analyzing Angie's art. 

“Atua looks like whatever you wish Him to look like! This is my Atua, but to you Atua might look vastly different. All I know is that Atua is perfect, without a fault!” Angie explained and could’ve gone off on a tangent on Atua if you hadn’t excused yourself and moved on. 

Gonta’s art was more... Modern. Well, it did kinda look like a painting made by a child, but nevertheless his painting was heartwarming to look at.

“It represents all Gonta’s friends! You are here (Y/N)!” Gonta pointed at a (F/C) plob, or as he says, an insect, in the middle of the painting. 

“Aww, that’s so nice of you, Gonta! You even remembered my favorite color.. Thank you for including me!” You beamed at Gonta.

“Of course I included you, you are Gonta’s friend. And oh, Kiyo is here too!” Gonta pointed at another, olive green plob next to yours.

“I.. I am included as well?” Korekiyo asked, nearly rendered speechless by Gonta’s act of kindness.

“Yes! (Y/N) and Kiyo are close friends so Gonta and Kiyo now friends too!” Gonta laughed innocently and warmly. 

“Oh.. Thank you, Gokuha-- I mean Gonta. I am touched by your kindness.” Korekiyo bowed his head to Gonta politely. After that you moved onto the next painting.

Kaede’s painting seemed to depict a striped dark uniform folded on a piano stool. There were blue petals on the floor beneath the stool.

“Should I even ask?” You grinned as Kaede did her best to keep a cool composure, blush creeping up on her cheeks nevertheless.

“We’re just good friends.. The teacher said you can also paint something related to your friend, right?” Kaede let out a sheepish giggle, dodging your teasing gaze.

“Sure, sure..” You laughed and let Kaede off the hook, moving onto Maki’s painting, “So Maki, why did you paint a starry sky, hm~?” You winked at Maki whose eyes flashed dangerously.

“Do you want to die?” She asked, her demeanor suddenly cold. You felt a protective hand on your back, recognizing that touch right away.

“It’s okay, Kiyo, Maki is just joking!” You assured Korekiyo, who was still holding onto you as you moved on to Kaito’s painting in haste.

“Spring rolls! For my Maki Roll!” Kaito explained what his painting represented loud and proud. Maki’s entire face flushed red at the statement and she hid her face behind her hair, “And this black hat is for my awesome sidekick Shuichi!”

Finally you moved onto Rantaro’s painting. He has used dark and muted colors, like grey, black, dark blue, dark green and brown, with one flash of light yellow on the left side. It was rather abstract, but somehow still conveyed a sad message.

“What does this represent, Rantaro?” You asked Rantaro but he kept his eyes on the painting, smiling sadly. You tried to ask him again but got no reaction. 

“So.. What did you attempt to convey with this painting?” Korekiyo asked and Rantaro jumped, as if surprised that anyone was standing behind him. He turned to Korekiyo with a sheepish smile on his face.

“Hah, I guess it’s rather abstract. I just did what you said earlier. This is what I’m feeling right now..” Rantaro explained, leaving an air of mystery hang around him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry that you’re feeling blue..” You sighed sympathetically, not really knowing how to cheer Rantaro up. 

“Did painting your feelings make you feel a bit more liberated?” Korekiyo prompted with his smooth voice, analyzing the painting and Rantaro’s body language and expressions with sharp eyes.

“Yeah, I guess so. I feel a bit less troubled now!” Rantaro nodded thoughtfully. 

After packing, you were about to make your way out of the classroom when you remembered that Rantaro had promised to ask Ryoma about his strange behavior. You saw Rantaro making his way out of the classroom and called out after him.

“Rantaro! Did you ask Ryoma?!” You shouted after him but he kept walking hurriedly while holding a conversation with Kaito and Kaede, “Huh.. I guess he was too absorbed into the conversation..” You sighed. You turned around and saw that you were alone in the classroom with Korekiyo.

“If you do not mind me saying, Rantaro was being a bit rude to you today. Could it be because of the talk he had with Ryoma? Or perhaps he just had a rough day?” Korekiyo walked up to you, shaking his head slightly. 

“I just don’t understand what’s going on. Now three of my friends are just ignoring me and I don’t even know why..” Your voice crumbled as you looked at the floor, saddened by the way you were being treated.

“I am positive there is a reasonable explanation for their behavior. You just need to wait it out..” Korekiyo mumbled and stood right in front of you, wondering how he could cheer you up.

“Yeah, you’re right.. But the fact that I don’t know what I’ve done wrong is just eating me on the inside.. Can this all be because of Ryoma’s grandfather?” You shook your head, unable to look up as tears started to dwell in your eyes. 

Korekiyo’s hands trembled slightly as he put his thumb on your cheek and the rest of his fingers under your chin, lifting your head up gently. You were forced to look him in the eye, noticing how a flash of panic appeared in those golden orbs as he saw your tears.

“...” Korekiyo watched you silently, exploring your facial features and micro expressions, in loss for words, “There’s paint on your cheek..” He suddenly breathed out, his gaze pointed onto your right cheek.

“Oops, clumsy me!” You chuckled nervously and reached out to wipe it away but Korekiyo quickly took out a handkerchief out of his uniform pocket and wiped it away himself, gently and carefully. In moments like these, you felt like Korekiyo could see into your soul and that made you feel vulnerable. But still you just let him wipe your cheek, nearly nuzzling into his hand. It was comforting after all the emotional distress you had to go through. It reminded you that you were real. 

“There..” Korekiyo whispered and removed his hand, “All clean now..” He smiled gently and put away the handkerchief.

“Thanks..” You mumbled, a bit ashamed after realizing the intimacy of the situation. You and Korekiyo, all alone in a classroom, so close to each other.. It was as if you were in some bad coming-of-age anime, “Oh! I just realized that I never saw your painting!” You suddenly shouted and rushed towards the easels and paintings that were pushed next to the wall. Korekiyo followed you with long, sure steps, humored by your sudden switch in behavior.

It didn’t take you long to identify Korekiyo’s painting. He has always had a unique style. His painting, much like Rantaro’s, contained a lot of dark hues, but instead muted shades, his were much richer and more vibrant, like jewels. Emerald, wine red, midnight blue, mulberry, hickory with a hint of gold and white.. It was absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking.

“This painting must be in the memory of your dear late sister, right? It’s really beautiful, Kiyo!” You turned to face your friend with a kind, understanding smile. You knew how important Korekiyo’s sister had been to him and couldn’t imagine him being inspired by anyone else other than her when the theme of the lesson was a special person.

A multitude of emotions ran through Korekiyo’s eyes; surprise, thoughtfulness, sadness, amusement.. It was hard to pinpoint which emotion he exactly landed on, but his gaze was soft and comforting.

“Yes, while it is true that I adored my sister, she is not my only muse.” Korekiyo stated mysteriously, clearly not willing to give more away.

“Ooh, does Kork have a cruuush~?” You sang teasingly, ignoring the piercing feeling of uneasiness in your chest.

“Hm, there is a lot of beauty in this world.. But I am afraid my hands are not capable enough to paint all of the beauty I see in people when I look around.” Korekiyo hummed serenely, clearly avoiding the topic at hand.

“Quit speaking in riddles! I want to know!” You demanded impatiently, tapping the floor with your right foot. Korekiyo chuckled, finding your stubbornness and impatience adorable.

“Everything in due time, (Y/N)..” He teased you and turned around dramatically, beginning to walk out of the classroom. 

“Where do you think you’re going?! You still need to tell me!” You whimpered and ran after him. Why were his legs so damn long, it made it harder for you to follow him..

“I need to go to the library, remember? Let us reconvene in a better time.” Korekiyo shrugged, not stopping for you. You stayed where you stood in front of the art classroom, your mind swimming. Korekiyo’s words rang in your ears and you felt your face burning up. Your throat felt dry but your hands were moist and clammy.

While you were busy with your new friends, ignoring Korekiyo, he had found someone to love. There was no other explanation. And you felt shitty that you couldn’t feel happy for him. Korekiyo deserved love and happiness even if he didn’t always realize it himself. You knew he had thought he wasn’t capable or deserving of love and happiness after the passing of his sister. You were supposed to be elated now that he’s found at least one of those.

_But what is this indescribable feeling in your chest?_


	4. Dancing Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first week back in school is over and it's time for a little party at Miu's place with your friends. Unlike all the other times in the previous school year, this time even Korekiyo is attending the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of alcohol and being drunk, mentions of sexual activity, strong language.

The next two days went on like the same old. You went to classes with your friends, ate lunch together and visited Korekiyo at the library after school. Everything would’ve felt ordinary if it wasn’t for that one small hiccup.

Ryoma came back to school on Thursday. Apparently he had caught a cold. But even so, he didn’t pay you any attention. And wherever Ryoma went, Kirumi followed like a shadow, telling Ryoma not to overwork himself and doing all kinds of tasks for him. Rantaro had also begun to spend more time with the two, and neither Kirumi or Rantaro talked to you during those two days.

Once Friday rolled around, there was a lot of excited buzzing among your classmates. Miu had decided to hold a little gathering on Saturday evening for everyone. She had held similar parties during the previous year, and you had dearly missed them during the summertime. It was the first time you all have had a proper chance to catch up without the prying eyes of the other students and professors.

This was the first time Korekiyo would be attending such a gathering among your classmates. You had basically begged him to come with you as you desperately wanted him to get along with the rest of your friends as the art class had gone so well. You knew Korekiyo usually didn’t care for such hangouts but you really wanted him to enjoy himself and feel like he belonged this time.

On the morning of Saturday, you sent Korekiyo a message, making sure he would be joining you and not backing down last minute.

**You:** Hey, you’re still coming to Miu’s tonight, right? :)

**Kork:** Of course. I made a promise to you, did I not?

**You:** Just wanted to make sure you’re not getting cold feet last minute! 

**Kork:** Do not worry about me. I will be there. 

**You:** Yay! I’m glad. Can’t wait to see you tonight! 

**Kork:** Likewise. 

Smiling, you put away your phone and began to plan your outfit for the evening while jamming to some of your favorite music. Maybe this evening would be a good chance for you to forget about the negative events of the week, maybe confront some people and just concentrate on making good memories with your friends. 

...

When you arrived at Miu’s, most people were there already. Korekiyo was waiting for you outside awkwardly, seemingly not daring to go inside without you. 

“You didn’t have to wait for me here, you could’ve gone in!” You scolded Korekiyo, who eyed Miu’s place with wary eyes.

“I was already called a creeper by Kokichi and demon-dick-virgin by Miu. I did not feel extremely welcome after that. At least Gonta complimented my hair, I guess..” Korekiyo shook his head. He had plaited his long hair. It was well cute.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that! But you do know that Miu calls everyone by weird nicknames and that Kokichi... Well, is Kokichi. Don’t take his words too seriously.” You squeezed Korekiyo’s shoulder reassuringly, slipping him an encouraging smile. 

“I guess you are correct..” He sighed, kicking the ground with his feet. 

“If it makes you feel any better, well.. I asked Miu if I could invite you, just to be sure as you’ve never joined us before.. And she said it was fine by her! She knew she was expecting you. Miu’s not a bad person even if she has a foul mouth.” You smiled at Korekiyo whose shoulders visibly relaxed after the comment.

“Ah, well that is reassuring to hear at least. To be honest, I do not usually care about other people’s opinions that much. I do not care if people are intimidated by me. But with you.. I just want to bring out the best in me. I do not wish to disappoint you or your friends.” Korekiyo admitted, shuffling his feet again.

“You could never disappoint me! You’re my friend. I don’t care if people call you creepy or weird. It has never bothered me!” You encouraged Korekiyo, smiling back at him brightly. 

“You have such a wonderful mind (Y/N). I am not sure how you ever saw anything nice in me but still, in the end you gave me your friendship. It is my most treasured possession.” Korekiyo finally smiled back. You felt your heart skip a beat by the way he spoke and looked at you.

“Kiyo, you’re going to make me cry if you talk about yourself in that manner!” You scolded Korekiyo playfully, sticking out your tongue, “At least you know how to make some sick braids!” You laughed.

“Well, I am good with ropes and knots, so braiding my hair like this was not a big feat..” He smirked at you, causing blood to rush to your cheeks.

“Okay, that’s enough information! Let’s just go in!” You quickly yelled, starting to make your way into Miu’s place, avoiding Korekiyo’s amused stare. 

“Kukukuku.. I can braid your hair too, if you want..” Korekiyo chuckled but followed you inside the house. 

...

Miu’s place was decorated with lights, changing the room’s colors. From red to blue, green to yellow, pink to purple.. There was even a disco ball, talk about a throwback. There were both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages lined on the table, along with some snacks and a bowl full of condoms, in the typical Miu Iruma -fashion. The sight made you blush and you hoped Korekiyo wouldn’t notice them. At least he didn’t say anything about them.

“There they come! Nishishi, you spent an awfully long time in the yard just by the two of you!” Kokichi teased the both of you, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Maybe if you had been more welcoming to Kiyo we would’ve been able to come in earlier!” You scolded Kokichi, pointing your finger at him accusatorily.

“Oooh, I didn’t know a tall scary creeper needs a cutie like you to hold his hand at social events, talk about lame!” Kokichi teased relentlessly, throwing an amused wink your way. 

“Hey, just because YOU’RE short doesn’t mean you have to take it out on every tall person you see!” You rolled your eyes, both playfully and seriously. 

“Oh wow, that was a low blow, (Y/N), a real low blow. I’ve been wounded, truly!” Kokichi gasped dramatically, acting like an over-excited puppy after it's been pushed away.

You were about to give another snarky remark when you were cut short by a sudden burst of laughter coming from right next to you. You gaze to your side and see Korekiyo chuckling, clearly humored by your antics. 

“You two are just hilarious to observe. I am learning so much about humanity through people like you.” Korekiyo shook his head with an amused tone.

“Well, I live to entertain!” Kokichi grinned, bowing, “Hey, Kiy--” He was about to add something, his grin faltering, when a loud voice boomed through the air.

In front of everyone was Miu, holding a megaphone, screaming into it. Gonta was holding his ears and at least half of your classmates looked pissed off by the overly-loud noise. 

“Listen up everyone! I need to set some ground rules before we can REALLY start partying! First off, don’t trash the place. Clean after yourself. Secondly, don’t get too loud. We don’t want the police on our asses!” Miu screamed into the megaphone, contradicting her second rule.

“Does she do this every time?” Kiyo whispered to your ear. You nodded in return.

“Third, if you want to FUCK, there is a bedroom upstairs, first door to the right. If it’s taken, better get fucking creative! Fourth, take care of your friends!” Miu continued with the rules.

“Wow, talk about a change of mood..” You muttered to yourself, shaking your head.

“And FIFTH, HAVE FUCKING FUN!” Miu ended her speech and whooped into the megaphone. Multiple people groaned at the noise. 

“I’m glad I can just block that sound out as a robot..” Kiibo sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Actually, one more thing..” Miu continued, looking rather serious all of a sudden. She was speaking with her normal voice, not screaming into the megaphone like a tortured monster, “We know these last weeks have been hard on all of us.. That’s why I wanted to hang out as fast as we can, so we all remember that we still have each other. We can make it through this together. I know I don’t usually get this mushy but.. I know we’ve all been struggling. So please, try and forget about those events just for tonight.” 

Last weeks? What’s been going on? You knew last week was a bit weird, but she used plural instead of singular. You tried to remember what Miu was talking about, but your memory was empty. You could see most of the other students being confused as well, but soon brushing it off, just grabbing drinks and mingling. Some were nodding along though, so you figured it was an inside joke you weren’t aware of.

“Do you happen to know what that was all about?” Korekiyo whispered into your ear, clearly just as confused as you.

“No.. But maybe it’s an inside story I’m not aware of? Or maybe Miu misspoke and meant to say last week or last days?” You shrugged, ignoring the uneasiness within. 

“Perhaps that is the case..” Korekiyo nodded, looking around, “So.. What do you usually do in these hangouts?” Korekiyo cleared his throat, looking a bit out of place.

“Well, we just talk to people, play games, eat, drink and dance. It’s pretty chill.” You explain to Korekiyo, who nods along. Before neither one of you can say anything else, you’re approached by some of your friends.

“Hi (Y/N), Korekiyo, enjoying the party?” Tsumugi smiled. She’s not wearing her glasses, but instead going with contacts, and her long blue hair is tied up into a high ponytail. 

“I.. I guess so? It only began, and Miu’s entrance speech was a bit odd, but otherwise it’s rather enjoyable.” You answer quickly, shrugging your shoulders.

“So Korekiyo, you’ve finally decided to join our little group, huh? Well, it’s nice to see you here. I’ve felt bad seeing you all alone before at school.” Kiibo admitted and smiled at Kiyo. 

“Please, just call me Kiyo. I’m happy (Y/N) invited me along.” Korekiyo answered formally, taken a bit back by how kind everyone was being.

“Not really your scene, Kiyo?” Shuichi asked, hinting at the party. Korekiyo shook his head slowly, “Not really my scene either.. But it’s mostly people I know so it’s fine.” Shuichi shrugged and smiled at his friends.

“Yooo Kiyo, Maki wanted to ask you something!” Kaito shouted on the top of his lungs, causing Korekiyo to turn around immediately, “Go ahead Maki Roll, ask him!” Kaito encouraged the pouting Maki, who poked his ribcage harshly in return.

“No I didn’t..” She sighed with annoyance. Kaito touched the place Maki had poked, wincing slightly before bouncing back.

“But you just asked ho-” Kaito began when Maki poked him again, even harder than before, and Kaito let out a louder wincing sound, backing away from Maki like a wounded deer.

“It’s not important! Just shut up!” Maki said a bit louder, her face red from all of the unwanted attention drawn to her.

“Harukawa, if there is anything you would like to ask me, then go ahead. I do not judge.” Korekiyo said cordially, his voice smooth and calm, although you could hear he was just the tiniest bit amused by Kaito’s and Maki’s dynamics.

“...” Maki began to play with her hair, pouting and looking away, “Can.. Can you braid my hair? Your hair looks so nice and I barely know how to make a messy bun..” Maki asked, clearly mustering up all of her courage. 

“Of course I can braid your hair. Come here.” Korekiyo smiled under his mask, taking out some hair ties and bobby pins out of his coat pockets.

Maki walked up to Korekiyo slowly, unsure, as Kaito whooped her on excitedly.

“Go on Maki Roll! It’s all about taking down your obstacles, one by one!” He shouted, embarrassing Maki further.

And then you all watched how Korekiyo masterfully braided Maki’s long brown hair. His fingers were really agile, dexterous and flexible, working through Maki’s locks professionally. You wondered how his fingers would feel in your hair.. 

It only took Korekiyo a few minutes to create one of the most extravagant braids you’ve ever seen. They really suited Maki, although you presumed it wasn’t a style Maki would usually go for. Kaito stared at Maki, mouth dramatically agape.

“You look so pretty, Maki Roll!” He finally grinned, making a little heart shape with his fingers. Maki’s face flushed yet again as she looked away from Kaito.

“It’s all thanks to Kiyo..” Maki slipped a small smile at Korekiyo, who just nodded back nonchalantly. 

“Korekiyo Shinguuji the passionate Anthropologist AND the talanted hairdresser!” Shuichi pointed out with a soft smile. 

“This is not much, there are a lot more extravagant hairstyles around the world which I could not even attempt to re-create.” Kiyo said humbly but couldn’t stop himself from smiling, “Does anyone else want their hair braided?” 

“Me!” You screamed so loud it nearly made Korekiyo jump. He turned to you slowly, a smirk forming underneath his mask.

“I knew you couldn’t resist my hair braiding skills..” He teased you cheekily and walked behind you, working his magic. It felt almost as if you got a free scalp massage as well, his trained fingers feeling amazing in your hair. You leaned back into his hands, letting out a small pleasant sound, only for Korekiyo’s ears. It was hard to see in the blue lighting of the room but judging by how his fingers stopped for a moment too long, you could tell he was at least a tiny bit flustered.

“Aww, they do seem really close.. They remind me of Meiko ja Jinta from Anohana, going from childhood friends to lovers, where one of the duo most likely shops at Hot Topic..” You heard Tsumugi whispering dreamily. 

“Um... What are you talking about?” Kiibo questioned Tsumugi, who giggled mysteriously in response.

“I cried during the final episode..” Tsumugi sighed sorrowfully, seemingly deep in thought.

“Yooo bitches! What’s up?! Are you turnt up or what?!” Miu suddenly appeared out of nowhere, a solo cup in her hand.

“Kiyo is braiding our hairs! Look how cute Maki looks right now!” Kaito quickly replied, pointing at Maki with pride. Maki looked like she wanted to be swallowed by the ground after the comment, biting the inside of her cheek anxiously.

“I guess those rope-tying lessons really paid off, huh?” Miu laughed loudly, downing a generous sip of her drink. 

“At least (Y/N) seems to be enjoying the treatment!” Kokichi appeared seemingly out of nowhere, his expression extreme. 

“Don’t have degenerate thoughts, Kokichi! Purify your mind!” Tenko shouted at Kokichi, appearing with Himiko as if summoned by Kokichi's comment. 

“You’re the one having degenerate thoughts if you thought that I’m having them!” Kokichi pointed out with a grin. Tenko’s cheeks turned red, her bottom lip whimpering, "Gotcha! You're just a big hypocrite, Tenko!" Kokichi laughed louder the brighter Tenko's cheeks bloomed.

“My hair is probably too short for nice braiding, nyeh..” Himiko sighed sadly, playing with her short red bob.

“Don’t say that, Himiko! Your hair is beautiful!” Tenko comforted Himiko, putting her hand around Himiko’s shoulder protectively.

“Maybe I can use magic to make my hair grow faster..” Himiko thought out loud with a depressive tone.

“There is a lot that can be done with shorter hairstyles, too.” Korekiyo assured Himiko, who smiled lazily back at him.

“Gonta want his hair braided too! Gonta want beautiful hair!” Gonta walked to the group with Angie, laughing excitedly.

“I will do your hair after I am done here, Gonta.” Korekiyo promised while finishing up with your hair.

“Ooh, ooh! Atua and I'd like to see your hair braiding skills in action too!” Angie hummed contendly. Korekiyo simply nodded his head.

For the next 20 minutes, Korekiyo used to braid your friends’ hair. Gonta, Himiko, Tenko, Miu, Angie, Tsumugi and Kaede all wanted their hair braided while the rest cheered him on, complimenting Korekiyo on his hair braiding skills.

“Look, we’re matching!” Tenko squealed in front of the mirror, Himiko by her side, before enveloping her into a tight hug.

“Nyeh! It’s like magic, but not!” Himiko laughed, staring at her new hairstyle in awe.

"Gonta look like a proper, fancy gentleman! Gonta never know what to do with hair, but now Gonta think maybe he should learn about braiding too!" Gonta couldn't stop from touching his hair in amazement.

“I really look like Nona, only with darker hair! It’s amazing!” Tsumugi laughed, twirling around in front of the mirror.

"Kiyo's fingers felt great on my scalp, I swear I could've creamed my pan-" Miu rambled, sounding slightly intoxicated. Before she could finish her sentence, Kiibo quickly covered her mouth, his face beginning to heat up.

“Atua is the most pleased with Kiyo’s work! I love it, too!” Angie played with her plaid, much different from her usual hairstyle.

“What do you think, Shuichi?” Kaede showed off her new hair to Shuichi, smiling. Shuichi’s cheeks reddened as he scratched the back of his head nervously. 

“You look great, Kaede..” Shuichi complimented her while averting his gaze. 

“That is not how you compliment a lady, Shuichi. Do you wish me to show you an example on how to treat and court someone properly?” Korekiyo questioned, glancing at you with an impish shine in his eyes.

“Oh boy, this should be fun!” Kokichi laughed like a kid at the candy store, seeing exactly where this was going. 

“S.. Sure. Go ahead, Kiyo..” Shuichi laughed nervously, not sure what was going to happen next, as dense as he was. 

Without missing a beat, Korekiyo turned to you, took your hand into his, caressing your knuckles with his thumb gently. He smiled at you, looking you straight into your eyes entrancingly, “You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, (Y/N). I’ve never seen as much beauty in this world as I’ve seen in you. Every time you smile at me, it takes my breath away. But what’s more than that, is how beautifully your mind works and the way you treat people around you. You’re like my guardian angel that has always been taking care of me during my darkest times, to hell and back.” Korekiyo spoke to you with a smooth, sultry tone, sending shivers down your spine and giving you goosebumps. You couldn’t help but blush, and you had to remind yourself multiple times that he was merely acting, showing an example to Shuichi. He didn’t actually mean those words, they weren’t actually directed to you. Or at least there was nothing romantic about it, they were just the words of _a good friend_.

“That almost sounded like you two are in an actual relationship! That’s so cute!” Kaede clapped excitedly, her cowlick somehow resembling a heart. You've learnt not to question the physics of ahoges as they seem to have a mind of their own. 

“What an old-school romantic!” Shuichi praised Korekiyo, “I should really learn from someone like you it seems..” He smiled nervously, glancing at Kaede with flushed cheeks.

“I don’t know if that was really lame or cute.. But whatever, (Y/N)’s face makes it all worth it!” Kokichi grinned mischievously. 

From the peripheral vision of your eyes you could see Miu’s face contort oddly, but soon she just shakes her head and takes a long gulp of her drink, closing her eyes momentarily. 

“I’m so fucking wasted tonight! Woo!” She screamed before disappearing into the crowd.

“(Y/N)..” You heard someone call you and you noticed that you had spaced off again, “(Y/N)!” The voice calls once again and you see Angie holding onto your hand with a playful smile on her face, “I’m bored! Let’s go and dance!” She laughed and before you could protest, she dragged you under the disco ball. Some others joined you, while others, including Korekiyo, stayed at the sidelines, watching you.

As you danced to the song, you felt.. At peace. While the music was loud, lights bright and air heavy with warmth, you still felt all of your troubles washing away there on the dance floor. You didn’t think about Ryoma, Kirumi or Rantaro, you just thought about how happy you were to be there in that moment, surrounded by your friends, in the dancing lights.

As a particularly bright light hit your retinas, a sudden feeling of panic filled your body. You needed to escape. Your breathing hitched and your head began to feel dizzy. Another bright light. Then the headache hit. You felt like your head was splitting in half, you wanted to scream, to throw up, to pull out your hair. Another bright light. You heard a loud alarm going off inside your head and people screaming as if they were being slaughtered. Flashes of red and blue filled your vision.

_Your body couldn’t take it._

You suddenly collapsed onto the dance floor, holding your head, tears forming in your eyes from the sheer amount of pain you were under. 

“(Y/N)!” You heard Korekiyo calling out to you. Although your vision was blurry, you saw Angie’s figure kneeling down next to you, taking a hold onto your arm.

After that, everything went dark. 

You came back to it outside Miu’s place, your head still throbbing painfully. A pair of steady arms were holding onto you. You were too disoriented to speak and really comprehend anything other than the horrible headache you were experiencing. 

“(Y/N).. How are you feeling?” A voice behind you asked, presumably whoever was holding you was also talking to you. 

Instead of answering, you threw up right then and there. A cold sweat was running down your forehead and you heaved, concentrating only on staying conscious. 

“I am going to take you home.” The voice stated again and you felt some lifting you up. Alerted, you looked behind you slowly, fighting the overflowing dizziness. 

Korekiyo’s eyes were full of worry as he carried you with surprisingly strong arms, cradling you against his chest. You felt both grateful and embarrassed, as you had caused such a huge scene, cut Korekiyo’s first night out short and smelled like puke. 

“Sorry...” You managed to mutter, blinking up at Korekiyo.

“You have nothing to apologize for. Your well-being is of utter most importance to me.” Korekiyo simply stated, attempting to smile behing his mask, but his eyes clearly betrayed him. 

You wanted to answer, but found yourself too weak and dizzy to string any reasonable sentences together.

“I had a good night, really. Do not worry about me.” Korekiyo added, noticing your expression. You only blinked twice before closing your eyes, nuzzling into the welcoming wamrth of Korekiyo’s chest. 

The next time you opened them, you were lying in your bed. Korekiyo was sitting next to the bed on a chair, keeping a watchful eye on you. When he noticed that you had awoken, he immediately put his hand on your forehead to test if you had fever. After that, he helped you to drink some water and gave you an advil.

“My guess is that you were horribly dehydrated. You do not seem to have a fever, and fainting and fatigue are some tell-tale signs of dehydration.” Korekiyo spoke seriously and didn’t let you put the water bottle down until it was empty.

After a moment, you felt a bit better, good enough to speak a little.

“Thank you Kiyo..” You thanked him weakly.

“It truly is nothing. I just had to make sure you were going to be alright,” Korekiyo hummed, a thoughtful look on his face, “This brings back some memories.. Of my sister. How I used to take care of her..” He sighed deeply, his eyebrows furrowed. You laid a compassionate hand on his knee and he smiled back at you.

“Are you.. okay?” You questioned him shortly, worried for him.

“Yes. It is just..” He shook his head, closing his eyes momentarily, “It just makes me feel scared of losing you like I lost my sister. When I saw you collapsing at the dance floor, my heart almost stopped. I thought I had lost you..” He admitted, his voice shaky. You squeezed his knee gently but with all the strength you had.

“You’re not.. going to lose.. me..” You promised Korekiyo, who in return opened his eyes and looked down at you. His eyes held both fear and sadness.

“You cannot promise that. No one can,” Korekiyo sighed again, “Sometimes I fear history will just repeat itself. That everyone I have ever cared about just.. disappears. One way or another. That I am not allowed by the fates to keep anyone by my side for long..” 

“You.. deserve happiness. You will be.. happy.” You comforted him, feeling like it was your duty after scaring him like that and forcing him to take care of you.

“I will be content.. As long as you do not leave me..” Korekiyo spoke softly and your heart skipped a beat again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I managed to post this chapter! I wrote it a while back but I just didn't manage to re-read it and edit it until today. Sorry for the long-ish wait! Remember to drink responsibly if/when you are of age.


	5. Blocked Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You return to school on Monday only to notice that more things seem off.. Luckily for you, some of your friends and willing to help you out with this mystery.

You returned to school on Monday as you felt much better, accounting your sudden collapse on dehydration just as Korekiyo had diagnosed. Korekiyo had stayed with you until dawn, making sure you were going to be alright, although you had protested and told him that he needed to sleep too. He had texted you multiple times during the weekend, making sure you were getting by by yourself.

“(Y/N)! Are you feeling better?” Angie asked as you arrived at school, clinging onto your arm. She was smiling as per usual, but you knew that beneath her optimistic mask she was still carrying some worry for you.

“Yeah, I’m totally okay now!” You assured Angie, who nodded in relief.

“Nyehaha, I guess Atua’s dance moves were too much for you!” Angie laughed in a joking manner.

“Wait, Atua can dance?” Maki questioned, crossing her arms skeptically.

“Of course He can dance! Atua is perfect!” Angie explained as if it had been self-evident.

“Soooo, Atua knows how to throw it back!” Kokichi grinned, “I said godlike freak, seven days a week, Worship Atua Please!” He sang out loud, shimmying along. 

“Shut up.” Maki stated but couldn’t hide that subtle smirk on her lips.

“But (Y/N), what happened after Kiyo took you away, hm~?” Tsumugi giggled, her glasses gleaming just like they do in all of those animes. You didn't quite understand how she managed to create that effect..

“I said I could take you home, but Kiyo insisted that he should be the one to look after you as he came to the party with you and that he has experience with taking care of someone sick!” Angie told you what had conspired after you had blacked out. You thought of Korekiyo's sister right away after Angie's statement, feeling a bang of sadness in your chest.

“Oh, it was nice of you to offer though, Angie, thank you!” You thanked her with a grateful smile.

“I thought Atua’s healing light could have helped you, but Kiyo insisted on more.. Traditional methods.” Angie smiled innocently, making your smile falter just a little.

“Well, Kiyo got the job done with traditional methods, so in the end it’s okay, right?” You laughed awkwardly.

“Ahh, you should have seen Kiyo’s reaction after you collapsed! He screamed your name, ran to you pushing everyone out of his way and cradled you in his arms! It was so romantic!” Tsumugi swooned, her hands clasped together against her bosom.

“That folklore freak nearly yeeted me across the dance floor, I still have bruises on my butt..” Kokichi sighed, shaking his head, “Wanna see my cool butt bruises?!” He suddenly asked with shining eyes.

“No thank you..” Maki glared at Kokichi, “Korekiyo did seem really worried though, for sure. He was even paler than usual.”

“But one of the bruises kinda looks like a star, I’m sure Kaito would like to see it!” Kokichi pouted dramatically, knowing what kind of reaction Maki would have on his last statement.

“Do you want to die?” Maki asked Kokichi, her eyes icy cold and expression furious.

“Not particularly, but thanks for the offer!” Kokichi chuckled but took a careful step away from Maki just in case.

“Hey (Y/N), you didn’t tell us what happened after you and Kiyo left the party!” Tsumugi reminded you inquisitively.

“Nothing Atua would condemn, riiight?” Angie chuckled and tilted her head. You couldn’t stop your face from flushing after what Angie had insinuated.

“Of course not! Kiyo’s not a creep!” You shrieked, shaking your head hurriedly.

“You sure we’re talking about the same guy?” Kokichi commented but you didn’t feed into his teasing by replying.

“Well, when I came to it we were outside and Kiyo told me he’s going to take me home. He began to carry me and then I blacked out again. When I woke up, I was in my bed, Kiyo by my side. He told me I had probably been dehydrated. He took care of me until the morning when I felt better..” You told the curious group.

“He sure is stronger than he looks..” Maki said deep in thought before her face flushed, “A-And I didn’t mean to insinuate anything about you with that statement, obviously!”

“I know what you meant, Maki..” You chuckled nonchalantly, brushing her comment off.

“Ahh, so cute! He’s like your knight in the shining armor!” Tsumugi squealed excitedly, just like a little girl.

“I don’t know what kind of fairytales you have read, Tsumugi, but to me Kiyo is hardly knight-like. He’s more like.. A swamp monster!” Kokichi poked out his tongue.

“Won’t you stop being such a Debbie Downer, Kokichi?!” Tsumugi slashed out with her usual gentle tone, although clearly frustrated.

“Wait, are you saying Shrek movies are not the absolute epitome of romantic comedies?!” Kokichi questioned, feigning surprise.

“I saw someone commenting ‘Shrek is love, Shrek is life’ on the internet.. I answered, ‘Atua is love, Atua is life’. I hope they found Atua, that poor lost soul..” Angie sighed with a smile.

“Can you please stop comparing Kiyo to Shrek? Thank you,” You chuckled, both humored but also feeling a bit bad for Korekiyo, “But yeah, he restored me to my full health!”

“You sound like you’re from an RPG game, (Y/N)!” Tsumugi laughed, playing with her long blue hair, “And I agree, Kiyo reminds me more of vampires rather than swamp monsters..”

“Skin white as snow, lips red as blood, hair dark as ebony.. That sounds like a vampire and Kiyo to me, Nishishi!” Kokichi agreed, nodding his head thoughtfully.

“You’re describing Snow White, not vampires..” Maki rolled her eyes hard.

Suddenly you could see more people approaching your group, a group including Kiibo, Shuichi and Kaito. 

“Hiya everyone! You ready for science class?” Kaito grinned and ruffled his hair, “Remember, you need to choose a partner to work with for the science project! I already snatched Shuichi as he’s like, real smart! And I’m smart and awesome, so we make a great team!” 

Maki looked mildly disappointed at the revelation, but tried to keep her poker face, “Tsumugi, do you want to pair up with me?” She asked after having scanned through her options.

“Sure! Let’s see how this goes!” Tsumugi nodded and smiled a bit nervously. 

“Angie, want to work with me? You’re way less boring than these other people.. No offence!” Kokichi had a toothy grin on his face. 

“Why do I get the feeling that this is a bad idea?” Angie thought out loud but shrugged with a pure smile, “Sure Kokichi, as long as we can dedicate our project to Atua! Nyahaha!” 

“Maybe we can even find scientific evidence on Atua’s existence?!” Kokichi riled Angie up, who whooped excitedly at the idea.

“I don’t know how much radiation can prove the existence of divine deities, but alright..” Shuichi sighed, tired of Angie’s and Kokichi’s shenanigans already.

“So it seems it’s us till the end, Kiibo.. But I guess I should still ask! Can we work together on our science project?” You turned to Kiibo, but it was as if he was looking straight through you.. He didn’t answer. 

“Uh, Kiibo..?” Shuichi cleared his throat, trying to get Kiibo’s attention. Kiibo gasped and his eyes focused, turning to Shuichi.

“So it seems like I have no one to work with.. Can I just join you and Kaito, Shuichi?” He asked, disappointment lacing his monotonous voice. 

“Eh?!” You yelled, taken aback by the fact that Kiibo ignored you like that.

“Um.. I guess that’s okay, but we need to ask the teacher first..” Shuichi nodded awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, giving you an apologizing look. 

“I’m positive the teacher will be alright with our arrangement. Maybe I can contribute something extra as a robot!” Kiibo smiled at Shuichi and Kaito. 

“But.. But..” You shook your head in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

“It’s okay, (Y/N), you can work with Maki and I..” Tsumugi quickly whispered to you and you nodded slowly. 

“Thanks Tsumugi..” You whispered back but were still saddened by Kiibo’s sudden hostile behavior. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. You’re with us.” Maki assured you, putting her hand on your shoulder briefly and squeezing it.

The bell rang before you could question Kiibo further and your group headed towards the science classroom. Things were starting to get weirder and weirder by each day that went by, and you decided at that moment that you needed to talk about this issue again with Korekiyo after school.

…

As you made your way to the library, you thought about the events that had conspired within the last week. How Ryoma had begun to ignore you, followed by Kirumi and Rantaro, with whom you had had a talk with about those two just the afternoon before. Then Miu’s speech at the get-together was weird and then you had fainted on the dance floor. Now Kiibo was ignoring you as well. Something about this didn’t feel right…

You had arrived in front of the library door without even noticing it. The thought of being able to vent about the latest developments to Korekiyo made you feel a little more peaceful. You opened the door, walking in quietly and discreetly. 

You noticed Korekiyo right away, putting some heavy tomes into their shelves and approached him from behind. 

“Hi Kiyo!” You yelled in a whisper and wrapped your arms around the tall man. Korekiyo didn’t seem surprised in the slightest and merely just chuckled, shooting you a knowing look.

“Well, hello there,” He greeted you back, letting your arms stay around him, “You do know that you are about as discreet as a plank of wood, yes?” he questioned in a teasing tone.

“Not fair! You just have a superhuman hearing ability..” You pouted, removing your arms in protest. Korekiyo rolled his eyes playfully, turning around to face you.

“Let us agree to disagree,” Korekiyo shrugged before his demeanor became more worried, “How are you feeling?” He asked, worrisome. 

“Physically I’m alright, but..” You started, feeling a sharp pain in your chest.

“But..?” Korekiyo inquired, mentally noting how uncomfortable you looked.

“I have science class with Shuichi, Kaito, Maki, Tsumugi, Kokichi, Angie and Kiibo. So there’s eight of us, right? Well, we have this pair project and Kaito paired up with Shuichi, Maki with Tsumugi and Kokichi with Angie, so I thought I’d ask Kiibo to work with me.. But in response he merely ignored me and asked Kaito and Shuichi if he can join them as a third person!” You voiced your concerns, hurt clearly visible in your voice. 

“Oh my..” Korekiyo gasped, covering his masked mouth with his hand, “That is rather rude indeed. Did you not talk normally during the gathering? What could have happened in a day that upset Kiibo?” He thought out loud, tapping his chin. 

“Absolutely nothing, as far as I’m concerned..” You sighed, shaking your head in confusion, “Tsumugi and Maki said I can work with them, and that’s fine, but.. I don’t understand what everyone has against me all of a sudden..” 

“Ah, I have thought about your predicament. I came to the conclusion that if they are not willing to communicate with you face-to-face, then maybe you should find an alternative way of communication..” Korekiyo suggested calmly. 

“Alternative way of communication.. You mean.. Sending them a message?” You questioned, making sure you were understanding what Korekiyo had meant. 

“Kukukuku, what about morse code? Or a carrier pigeon? Perhaps smoke signals..” Korekiyo laughed sarcastically, “Yes, I meant sending them a message. I do not personally use social media all that much but I think it could prove to be helpful in your situation.” 

“Wow, why didn’t I think about that before?” You laughed, taking out your phone, “Who should I text first?” You wondered out loud. 

“Depends what you are looking for. Answers, a quick reply..” Korekiyo shrugged nonchalantly.

“Hmm..” You mumbled, looking at your contacts, “Out of those five, Miu’s on her phone the most often. She loves her gadgets! Maybe I should start with her and ask the others later..” 

“That sounds like a plan.” Korekiyo encouraged you as you started to type out the message.

**You:** Hi Miu! I’ve been wondering about your speech at the party.. What was that all about? And do you know why Ryoma, Kirumi, Rantaro and Kiibo are all ignoring me? Is that some kind of an inside joke I’m not getting? Thank you. 

You sent the message, blinking slowly, “Huh, that’s strange..” You thought out loud. 

“What? Did she reply already?” Korekiyo questioned, looking over your shoulder with curiosity.

“No.. My message won’t be sent..” You muttered, trying to type another message. Another error message popped onto the screen. 

“Do you have a stable internet connection?” Korekiyo asked, scratching his neck slowly. 

“Yeah..” You answered after checking your wi-fi, “I’ll try turning my phone off and on again next..” You added, determined to send that message.

You turned your phone off and on again, but the problem didn’t go away.

“That’s so strange..” You gasped, “I’ll try and send a message to.. Rantaro.” You nodded your head slowly and typed another message to another person.

You: Hi Rantaro! I never heard back whether you had that talk with Ryoma.. Can you tell me what happened?

The same problem occurred. You were scratching your head, confused and worried.

“Did.. Did they block me?” You muttered in disbelief. 

“Why do not you try to send a message to someone who is behaving normally? That can be counted as your control group..” Korekiyo suggested and you nodded. You typed another message, to Kaede this time. You knew she would not ignore a message from anyone or block you without a reason. 

**You:** Hi Kaede!

The message was delivered. Your heart skipped a beat. Now you knew the problem wasn’t with your phone. You waited a minute. Two. In complete silence. Then, you got a notification.

**Kaede:** Hi (Y/N)! What’s up? :) 

You smiled feebly, happy that at least some of your friends were still happily talking to you. You quickly typed an answer, which delivered normally too.

**You:** Nothing much. Sorry about bothering you, some of my messages weren’t delivering so I sent a message to you as a test. Thank you for replying.

**Kaede:** Of course! Huh, that’s odd.. Whose messages aren’t delivering? 

**You:** Miu and Rantaro.. I wonder if they have blocked me. I’ll try and send a few more messages.. 

**Kaede:** Okay, report the results back to me! Maybe I can ask those people what’s going on. You can always talk to me :)

**You:** Thank you, Kaede.

**Kaede:** Anytime!

“Well, the problem is not with your phone or the internet connection, it seems..” Korekiyo was the first to break the silence, his face unreadable. 

“Yeah.. The only reasonable explanation is that I’ve been blocked.. But why?” You questioned while beginning to type more messages. One to Ryoma..

**You:** Hi Ryoma! I want to apologize if I’ve upset you in any way, but please, can we talk..?

Another one to Kirumi..

**You:** Hi Kirumi! I’ve been wondering why things have gone quiet between us.. Can you send me a message or call me?

And lastly, one to Kiibo.

**You:** Hi Kiibo! Why didn’t you want to pair up with me for the science project? Have I made you upset? Please answer me..

But none of the messages were delivered.. 

“They’ve all blocked me!” You gasped, the feeling of dread growing within your heart. 

“What..? But why?” Korekiyo mumbled, a concentrated look in his eyes. 

“I don’t know.. I’ll report back to Kaede. Maybe she can ask them..” You shook your head and typed one final message to Kaede.

**You:** Hi again! Miu, Rantaro, Ryoma, Kirumi and Kiibo have all blocked my number. Can you check up on them for me, please? 

It took Kaede less than a minute to reply.

_Kaede:_ Of course! Leave it to me!

You felt a bit better knowing that at least Kaede had your back. You put your phone away, too mentally and emotionally exhausted to think about it anymore, turning to face Korekiyo.

“What am I going to do next..?” You questioned, looking at the ground depressively. 

“The way I see it, you have two options..” Korekiyo mumbled slowly, “One, you continue to try and reach out to them.. Send them messages, talk to them in school, leave messages in their lockers, visit their house..” 

“What’s the other option?” You questioned, confused.

“Show them that two can play that game. Just leave them be. If they decide to behave in such a childish way, then maybe they simply are not worth your time and effort.” Korekiyo said matter-in-factly. You couldn’t help but let out a surprised gasp.

“But.. They’re my friends! I could never ignore them like they ignored me..” You sighed, shaking your head.

“I know. You are a better and bigger person than that.. But.. I just do not wish to see you getting hurt time and time again solving something that might be out of your control..” Korekiyo’s golden eyes were boring straight into you, a certain protectiveness within. 

“I…” You looked at the floor, then at Korekiyo, then the floor and Korekiyo again, trying to come to a decision. When your eyes met Korekiyo’s again, they were filled with determination instead of despair, “I can’t give up yet! I need to get to the bottom of this. I can never rest peacefully if I don’t find out what’s going on!” 

Korekiyo stared at you, dumbfounded. For a second you thought he was going to protest, but were surprised to hear a low chuckle coming from him. 

“Kukuku.. You’re such an interesting case, (Y/N)..” He smiled, amused, “Very well. I will help you to find out what is going on with the best of my abilities.” He promised you.

“You will?” You asked and Korekiyo nodded, “Thank you, Kiyo!” You smiled brightly, launching yourself at him again. He caught you, carefully placing his arms around you. You squeezed him tight, burying your face into his clothes. They smelled safe and grounding. You felt yourself melting into his arms, surrounded by sudden warmth, your heartbeat quickening ever so slightly. 

Your tender moment was cut short by your phone vibrating. You quickly let go of each other, slightly flustered, and you took out your phone, wondering who was trying to reach you. You saw Kaede’s name flash on the screen and you picked up the phone, mentally preparing yourself for anything.

“Hi Kaede, did you talk to them yet?” You answered, trying to hide your nervousness, but found that your voice was still shaky.

“Yeah, I did.. Is this a good time?” Kaede replied, her voice serious.

“Um, yes.. Just give me a second..” You answered, muted the call for a second and spoke to Korekiyo, “I have to go. Kaede wants to talk and I guess it’s a bit rude to have a full-on phone call in the library..” 

“Alright. Report back to me tomorrow.” Korekiyo nodded, understanding your predicament. 

“For sure! Bye Kiyo!” You gave him your best attempt at a happy smile, trying to hide the fact that you were nearly pissing yourself from nervousness was more difficult than you had expected. Korekiyo nodded to you as you left the library in haste.

“I’m back. So what did you find out?” You asked as soon as you had exited the library door.

“You won’t believe what happened..” Kaede said suspensefully, sending a shiver down your spine.

“Do tell..” You breathed out, ready to face the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger! ;)


	6. The Curious Case of Miu Iruma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaede finally tells you about her phone calls with Kirumi, Rantaro and Miu. Miu arrives to school in a horrible state, causing a stir amongst her fellow peers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here again with another chapter! I hope you all like it.
> 
> Trigger warnings: Explicit language, references to sexual themes, seesaw

“Well, I called them all. Kirumi, Rantaro and Miu picked up. They all acted.. Strange. But in very different ways.” Kaede finally told you as you were holding your breath.

“In different ways..? What do you mean?” You blinked, walking through the empty hallways of the school.

“Kirumi claimed that she hadn’t blocked you and hadn’t received a message from you. Then she quickly excused herself, saying that she’s preparing food.” Kaede told about her phone call with Kirumi. You nodded along.

“I guess that sounds like her.. But why would she lie about not blocking me?” You sighed, “What did Rantaro say?” 

“That’s the thing.. He didn’t say anything. I could only hear him breathing for a solid minute before he hung up on me!” Kaede explained and you could imagine her wailing her hands around while talking like she usually did.

“Huh? That’s strange.. Why would he not say anything at all?” You wondered out loud, blinking slowly, “Maybe he answered without his knowledge, like maybe the phone was in his back pocket.. Well, what about Miu?”

“That one was the most peculiar one of all!” Kaede shrieked, her voice shrill.

“What did she say?” You asked, impatiently waiting for the big reveal.

“She..” Kaede’s voice sounded suddenly sad, “She burst out in tears after I asked her about you. Like, full on ugly sobs.” She whispered worriedly. 

“Miu… Cried?!” You gasped, not having expected that from Miu, “Did she tell you why?” 

“No, I asked her if she was alright and what she was crying for, but she just screamed that I should leave her alone and hung up on me too!” Kaede explained sorrowfully, “She didn’t pick up when I tried calling her again..” She sighed in defeat.

“What on Earth is going on..” You mumbled, your head swimming. You were somehow even more confused than before.

“I don’t know.. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more useful..” Kaede apologized, sounding genuine.

“No, it’s alright! You’ve done more than enough already! Thank you so much.” You thanked her, masking your slight disappointment. 

“I can continue trying to contact Kiibo and Ryoma though! Maybe they have more answers..” Kaede suggested, sounding slightly optimistic.

“That would be great! You’re the best!” You smiled, really wanting to hug Kaede at that moment.

“It’s nothing! I hate seeing our friend group slowly drifting apart like this..” Kaede sighed and you felt a guilty pang within your heart, as you couldn't help but blame yourself for this.

“Yeah, me too.. I’m sorry for causing so much trouble..” Now it was your time to apologize to Kaede.

“No no no, it’s not your fault! Not at all! I’m sure this situation can be solved!” Kaede quickly replied, her optimism contagious. 

“I hope you’re right.. Thank you so much again!” You told as you exited the school building, ready to head to your place.

“I’ll keep you updated! See you!” Kaede said her goodbyes. 

“Talk to you soon! Bye!” You replied and Kaede hung up the phone on you, leaving an empty ringing in your ear. 

You were somehow left with more questions than answers. Your friend’s replies were rather puzzling, and none of them could really offer you any real reason for their radio silence. Why did Kirumi lie? Why was Rantaro quiet? Why did Miu cry? Those were some of the new mysteries you had uncovered. 

…

The following night you laid in your bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. You tried your hardest to count sheep, to stop thinking about it all, to just let your dreams take you away, but it was as if every ounce of your being was against you resting peacefully.

Just as you were about to slip away, you heard a familiar ping. You sat up quickly, your heart beating fast. Who could be sending you a message at 2 am? Maybe Kaede had updates for you.. Or maybe it was Korekiyo, that boy never seems to sleep..

You took your phone off of the bedside table, clicking it open. The message you had received was just the most peculiar. 

**Kirumi:** Kaede asked about you today.. I’m sorry.. 

You were confused. You felt happy to hear from Kirumi, and she didn’t seem to be angry at you judging by her message, but what was she exactly apologizing for? Was she apologizing because she had ignored you for the past days? That must be it.. You were just about to type out a message back to her when you got another message. This time it was from Rantaro.

 **Rantaro:** I probably shouldn’t type this message but I can’t stop thinking about it all.. Why is this happening to us? I don’t understand.. 

Who was stopping him from contacting you? What was going on with him? What was Rantaro unable to understand? You could sense the desperation in the words he had typed, somehow knowing very well that he too had lied awake, thinking about something really hard. Before you could reply to him or Kirumi however, a third message was sent. This time it was a voice message, from Miu.

“You’re such an idiot, you know that, right?!” Miu’s voice screeched out, loud and shaky. Blinking, you realized she was crying and probably drunk too, “Why would Kaede ask me about you now?! Have I not been hurt enough?! No matter how much I drink it doesn’t go away! Please stop trying to slither your way into my life! Just go away!” Miu continued, sobbing her eyes out. That’s where the voice message cut off. 

Each one of the messages made you more puzzled than the other. Kirumi’s message was short and mysterious, Rantaro’s longer and desperate, while Miu’s voice message was just absolutely heartbreaking. Was Miu mad at you? Why didn’t she want to figure stuff out and make up? Why was she hurting? 

You attempted answering each of the messages, but they had blocked you again. At least the messages didn’t deliver. You sighed deeply, anxiety building up. Why would they message you just to block you right after? Did they all really want to have the very last word? At least you had something to update Korekiyo on..

In the morning when you woke up, the messages were gone, as if they had never even existed. You tried messaging Kirumi, Rantaro and Miu again, but it was no use. 

_Did you really dream all of those messages?_

…

As soon as you arrived at the school, Kaede ran up to you, embracing you in a tight hug. 

“(Y/N)! Are you alright?” She asked, looking you dead in the eye. You nodded groggily, still tired after such a sleepless night.

“I’m okay.. I had a dream that Kirumi, Rantaro and Miu sent me messages but the texts were gone in the morning.. I’m just so confused.. ” You explained your dream to Kaede, who nodded thoughtfully.

“You must have been thinking about the entire thing a lot in order to dream about it..” She sighed before smiling at you, “But hey, don’t worry about it too mu-” She added, but stopped in her tracks when the front doors opened and Miu stormed in, looking awful. 

Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy. It looked like she had slept in the same clothes she was wearing to school. Her eyes were unfocused, dark circles underneath them. She reeked of alcohol and didn’t even seem like she was trying to hide it.

“Miu! What’s wrong?” Kaede shrieked, running up to the girl genius. Miu stopped and stared blankly at Kaede, not blinking even once.

“Ugh.. Titless..” Miu mumbled with an annoyed expression.

“You look horrible!” Kaede noted, trying to smooth Miu’s clothes and hair with her hands. Miu slapped her hand away weakly, swaying. You ran up to them, grabbing Miu by her shoulders.

“Get ahold of yourself, Miu!” You told her, but Miu didn’t even seem to hear you.

“Kaede.. I’m so fucked..” Miu hiccuped, rubbing her temples in pain.

“Why?” Kaede questioned with worry, blinking rapidly, “Well, if a teacher catches you looking this disheveled, then yes, you are fucked!”

“I don’t care, those teachers can go wank themselves!” Miu blustered, attempting to raise her fist but nearly losing her balance instead.

“Let’s go to a bathroom to freshen you up, Miu..” You mumbled, taking her hand. She didn’t budge until Kaede began to pull her along. 

“Where are you- Where are you taking me?!” Miu yelled, swaying, “Are you going to bust me to the teachers, you sneaky little bitch?!” She screamed. A few students turned around, amused and confused.

“No, we’re going to the bathroom to wash your face, comb your hair and spray some perfume..” Kaede sighed, shaking her head, her cheeks flushed at the attention. 

“Bathroom? Are you going to give me some cunninli--” Miu laughed, sounding erratic. 

“NO! Just keep quiet so we don’t get caught!” Kaede screamed, her face reddening further. You heard snickering and gossiping around you.

You looked up, your eyes meeting the stern look of your history teacher. She shook her head, disappointed.

“Ms. Iruma and Ms. Akamatsu! What is this commotion?” The teacher questioned, her voice telling you that you were, in fact, in trouble.

“Ah, Ms. Sano! We’re.. Going to the bathroom..” Kaede explained, her voice becoming more and more quiet under the stern gaze of Ms. Sano. 

“Ms. Iruma, explain yourself immediately. Why do you smell of alcohol? Are you drunk?” The teacher turned her eyes on Miu, who straightened herself and tried not to cower. 

“I accidentally spilled some on me during chemistry class..” She tried to lie, playing with her blonde hair anxiously. The teacher furrowed her eyebrows.

“It’s the morning. Classes haven’t even started yet.” She reminded Miu, whose stance faltered a little. 

“Well! I spilled it yesterday! I didn’t have the time to wash my clothes last night!” She tried to lie her way out of trouble, but you could see Ms. Sano was not buying it. 

“You could’ve come to school in your gym uniform or some other appropriate clothes.” Ms. Sano shook her head disapprovingly. 

“As if you cow didn’t drink yourself to sleep after your divorce with your cheater ex-husband! You’re no different from me, bitch!” Miu suddenly screamed, losing her temper. 

“Your behavior tells me even more than the smell. You’re drunk, Ms. Iruma, and that is against the school regulations. You’re suspended for two weeks for attending school under the influence and screaming at your teacher, please follow me to my offic-” Ms. Sano started to tell Miu off but before she could even finish her sentence, Miu burst out crying, snot running down her nose.

“You should know how much we have gone through! Is it a surprise that we are finding it hard to cope?! The school hasn’t offered us any help, no counseling, no days off, no nothing! I’m not even the only one struggling!” Miu cried in the hallway and the situation unfolding had gathered many fellow students around. You saw the looks on their faces; they felt sorry for Miu. 

But what for? Why was she struggling? Why did she use the word ‘we’ instead of ‘I’? Why would the school offer counseling or holidays? 

Even Ms. Sano’s stern expression faltered as she stared at Miu, her mouth slightly agape. Kaede tried to help Miu to calm down, but the tears just kept coming. Ms. Sano put her hand around Miu’s shoulder and started to walk her away towards her office, telling the spectating students to mind their own business and shushing the crying mess that was Miu Iruma. 

You looked at Kaede, confused, a burning feeling in your throat. The other students were slowly going their own ways, leaving just you and Kaede standing still in the middle of the hallway.

“Do you understand what just happened?” You whispered to Kaede. For a second you swore you could’ve seen something click in Kaede’s head, but that epiphany was gone as soon as it had appeared, and she shook her head.

“No, I don’t..” She sighed, rubbing her temple, “Ouch, my head..” She complained.

“Do you need a painkiller?” You asked, worried for Kaede’s sudden headache.

“No, I’ll manage.. I’m just gonna go play the piano before the lessons start.. See ya!” She tried to muster a small smile as she walked away, her stride uncertain and shaky. 

From her words you gathered that she wanted to be left alone, so you decided to catch up on some of the homework you had forgotten last night. 

…

Miu’s morning breakdown was the hot topic of that day at the academy. You heard people whispering, glancing at your friend group with untamed curiosity, overflowing sympathy and insatiable amusement, pointing and giggling. 

“What’s up with that wacky inventor?” 

“She’s acting even crazier than normal...”

“Miu Iruma’s life seems to be falling apart!” 

“Poor Iruma..” 

You felt bad for Miu, knowing that the entire school knew what had happened and was talking about it. If anything good came out of her theatrics, it’s that she didn’t get suspended in the end and was instead given three days off and offered some counseling by the school. Some teachers had asked your friends about their well-being as well, which you found a little odd but couldn’t really debunk how important therapy, counseling and mental health advocacy were.

You were even discussing Miu’s condition during your lunch period, wondering if there was any way you could help her out. You hadn’t even understood how much she had been struggling even if she had acted a little off during her party. 

“Gonta worries for Miu. Gonta did not know Miu sad. Gonta want to show Miu bugs to make her smile..” Gonta, being as sensitive as he was, was outwardly the most concerned for Miu’s mental health. His ruby red eyes were glossy every time he spoke or heard about Miu.

“I wonder if some degenerate male broke her heart and that is causing her so much pain!” Tenko thought out loud, looking like she was ready to beat someone up. 

“Or maybe she finally realized her inventions don’t compare to my magic..” Himiko suggested with a small, playful smile on her face, indicating that she wasn’t all that serious. She reminded you of a playful little kitten. 

“Yesterday..” You thought for a moment how much you should tell, but decided to tell everything, “I tried sending her a message, but she had blocked my number..”

“What? Why would Miu block your number? You are Miu’s friend!” Gonta gasped, surprised by your information.

“I don’t know, but she wasn’t the only one.. Ryoma, Kirumi, Rantro and Kiibo have also blocked my number..” You sighed, shuffling with your fingers.

“Kirumi? I didn’t know she’s capable of such behavior..” Tenko furrowed her eyebrows.

“It’s starting to make sense..” Himiko suddenly said, everyone turning to look at her.

“What?! This makes sense to you?” You asked, hoping Himiko had some crucial information.

“Well, I feel like our friend group has started to slowly fall apart.. Ever after the summer. My magic fields can sense these things, you know..” Himiko told the group before yawning and stretching her arms. 

“Gonta do not want friend group to break. Gonta love you all!” Gonta whispered loudly, shaking a little. You put your hand on his big arm, calming him down. 

“And the story doesn’t end here.. I told Kaede what’s going on and she called those people. Out of those five, three answered her call - Kirumi, Rantaro and Miu. But they all had strange reactions to her question about me. Kirumi lied that she hadn’t blocked me, Rantaro didn’t say anything at all and Miu just cried, asking Kaede to leave her alone.. So Miu was really out of it yesterday already..” You told the group, leaving them surprised. 

“That’s so odd.. I feel bad for Miu..” Tenko sighed, tapping the table, “But it sounds like her reason for breaking down is you.. Do you know what that could be about?” 

“No.. Not at all.. I wanted to ask them about it, but they have all blocked me..” You shook your head sadly, “One more thing.. Well, I think I only dreamt it, because in my dream, I got messages from those three, but they were gone by the morning.. But one thing seems strange about that dream though..” 

“What is it?” Gonta questioned, his large frame tense. 

“In that dream, Miu sounded drunk. And when she came to school, she was indeed drunk.. It could’ve been just a coincidence, though..” You explained quietly, knowing that you probably sounded stupid. 

“Maybe you had a prophetic dream!” Himiko suddenly declared, throwing her hands in the air, accidentally throwing her sandwich as well. Tenko dived for Himiko's sandwich, catching it before it could hit the floor and giving it back to Himiko who in return thanked her shyly and blushed. 

“Prophetic.. Dream?” You questioned, scratching your head. 

“Or maybe you made a connection to Miu in that dream.. Dreams work in mysterious ways. When I’m dreaming, I sometimes do the craziest things.. That’s why I’m always so tired in school!” Himiko explained, taking a bite out of her sandwich. 

“Maybe you actually got those messages but either you or them deleted it?” Tenko suggested, staring longingly at Himiko’s sandwich.

“Gonta think it just bad dream..” Gonta shrugged, smiling at you sadly, “When Gonta see bad dreams, Gonta snuggle with giant caterpillar pillow he got from Kaede. Gonta can lend caterpillar pillow to (Y/N)!” 

“Thanks for the offer Gonta, but I think I’ll be okay..” You smiled at Gonta, feeling grateful for his support nonetheless.

“I can make you a spell that keeps bad dreams away..” Himiko suggested, trashing her hand around. When she was distracted, Tenko took a small bite of her sandwich, looking victorious.

“If I exercise hard enough before sleep, I don’t usually see bad dreams!” Tenko shared her tip while munching on Himiko’s sandwich, “If you ever need a workout buddy, you know who to call!”

You couldn’t help but turn that frown upside down at the support of your friends. You laughed, feeling suddenly sentimental, and looked at your friends while saying; “You’re all great.. Please don’t ever forget about me..” 

…

After the last period you hurriedly made your way towards the school library. Each of your heartbeats urged you to see Korekiyo as soon as possible, each pound in your head reminded you of the weight of distress you carried within. 

You couldn’t see Kiyo right away after you entered the library. After searching for a few minutes however, you found him sitting at one of the tables, playing with a pencil. 

“Kiyo.. What are you doing?” You asked, sitting next to him. Kiyo stared at the pencil that he was bouncing up and down on an eraser in the middle, but you could tell he was smiling under his mask.

“It’s a seesaw. Isn’t it wonderful?” He sighed contentedly and you couldn’t help but smile at his innocence, and how he saw the smallest and most unimportant things in this world as so beautiful. Maybe that is why he also decided to stick with you after all these years.

“What’s up with you and seesaws?” You questioned, smirking. He never once tore his eyes away from his little seesaw. 

“Seesaws apply to everything in this world. It has it’s ups and downs.. What goes up must come down.. Some things weight more than others and sometimes only the strongest can win. Seesaws are a fight for both dominance and stability. As a child, I was nearly almost the one in the air, being so skinny and scrawny. It feels great, as if you’re free and flying, until you come crashing down. Being on the bottom makes you feel powerful until you have to experience the loss of that power and control.” Korekiyo held a small monologue, playing with his pencil seesaw.

“Wow, I bet not that many people can get so passionate about seesaws!” You teased him with a grin.

“Actually, there is one more motive for my sudden interest in seesaws..” He admitted and finally turned to look at you fully.

“What’s that?” You questioned, surprised.

“I have heard you had a rough day today. I just wanted to take your mind off of it for a few minutes..” Korekiyo sighed and finally let his seesaw fall. The pencil rolled off the table from the impact. You watched it fall down as if it was in slo-mo. Even the small sound of a pencil hitting the floor can sound loud in an empty library. Even the smallest and most unimportant can create an impact in the right place. Maybe that’s also why Korekiyo bares with you.

“(Y/N).. You are spacing out…” Korekiyo’s voice called out to you, pulling you back to reality. 

“That was a really sweet thought, Kiyo!” You grinned at your friend, grateful for the little distraction he had come up with. It helped you to put things into perspective.

“Glad to have you back with me..” Korekiyo teased you with a wink, “Now, would you like to talk about what has conspired in the past 24 hours with me?”

You nodded and hurriedly told him everything, from Kaede’s call to your odd dream messages and from Miu’s mental breakdown to the conversation you had had with Himiko, Tenko and Gonta over lunch.

Korekiyo listened to you vent without any disturbances or questions but still engaged, hanging onto your every word. His amber eyes were sharp and concentrated, giving you the impression that he was fully present. It felt grounding. 

“So yeah, that’s all that has happened.. Do you have any clearer idea of what might be going on?” You asked Korekiyo, looking for his philosophical insights.

“What an intriguing mystery we have afoot..” Korekiyo nodded, running his hand through his long hair, “I think the curious case of Miu Iruma can give us the most answers, although I do fear the knowledge we possess is not enough to solve this case quite yet.”

“So what are your thoughts about Miu’s behavior then?” You asked, impatiently waiting for Korekiyo’s verdict. You felt like if anyone would be able to solve this case, it’d be him.

“Miu has clearly learnt some information that has caused her great distress. That information is most likely related to you, judging by her behavior when Kaede mentioned your name to her. But oh, what a shame we do not know what that information could be about..” Korekiyo theorized, clearly very into this mystery.

“Yeah, Tenko said something a bit similar.. But how can we find out what she learnt? What do they all know regarding me that I don’t know about? It’s tearing our friend group apart.. And I’m not the only one who has noticed the effects..” You sighed, your shoulders slouched. 

“(Y/N)..” Korekiyo sighed and shook his head, his eyes softening a little, “Ever since the beginning you have only wanted to do the right thing. That is what matters. You have done your best to repair your relationships but they just have not reciprocated yet. That is out of your control. They will come to you when they are ready..” He attempted to comfort you.

Without even realizing it, you had started to tremble. Tremble from the anxiety, stress, nervousness and loss of control. Your eyes met Korekiyo’s and after seeing the lost look in your eyes, he couldn’t just look at you. He wrapped you into a tight hug, trying to calm down your nerves. He wasn’t the most affectionate type with anyone else but you.

“Will things ever get better, Kiyo?” You asked, hiccuping. Korekiyo gently began to pat your head in a further attempt to calm you down. The longer you two stood there, the more relaxed you both became. Korekiyo started to slowly play with your hair as if he was braiding it again. You started to lean more into him, listening to his steady heartbeat. 

You wanted to hold onto this moment desperately. You weren’t sure why, but there was a serene quality to it. You couldn’t help but feel like at this very moment, you were something a bit more than just childhood friends. You’ve been dancing around that issue for a while now, but neither of you had done anything that could potentially ruin your friendship. But this.. This felt right.

“Hey..” You whispered and leaned further from him, your hands planted on his chest, staring deep into his sunrise eyes. You felt yourself to be blushing, but didn’t mind. 

“(Y/N)..” He breathed out your name, his eyes wide but soft. His pupils were slightly blown, stirring something primal within you. An urge to claim or be claimed. An urge to risk it all. Korekiyo pulled down his mask, revealing his full face to you. You hadn’t seen the lower part of his face in years. He looked absolutely perfect to you. 

Before you could even think about it or comprehend what was happening, the distance between your lips started to shrink. Your eyes slowly closed and you just now realized how much you have wanted this. You could feel Korekiyo’s warm breath play on your lips and feel his racing heartbeat underneath your fingertips, exciting you further. 

Just as your lips were about to meet, your phone decided to ring. It was enough to shake you out of your trance and you jumped back, opening up your eyes again. Korekiyo’s face was the reddest you’ve ever seen it before and he just stared at you, his eyes hazy with emotion and his lips slightly parted. 

“E-Excuse me..” You managed to stutter and you hurried your way out of the library, answering the ringing phone on the way, “(Y/N) speaking..” 

“(Y/N), is now a good time to talk?” Kaede’s voice called out. Your heart beat fast, your face was all heated up and you had nearly kissed your childhood friend! Does that sound like a good time to be interrupted with a phone call?!

“... Yes.” You replied, swallowing down your disappointment and embarrassment, “What’s up?” You asked Kaede, trying your best to cool yourself down.

“Kiibo and Ryoma finally answered my calls!” Kaede exclaimed, sounding proud of herself.

“Great, great..” You muttered, your mind completely somewhere else. 

“Huh, what’s wrong? Don’t you want to hear what they had to say?!” Kaede shrieked, taken aback by your lack of enthusiasm. 

“Um, of course I want to! Sorry, I’m just a bit distracted.. But go ahead, please tell me!” You reassured Kaede, trying your best to concentrate on the present moment even if the only thing you wanted to do was to replay that moment with Korekiyo in your head over and over again.

“Kiibo said he didn’t understand what I was talking about.. I tried to explain it to him but he said I wasn’t making any sense.. Whatever that means.” Kaede told you, sounding confused.

“If he consciously ignored and blocked me, how does he not understand what you’re talking about? Was he trying to.. Weasel his way out of responsibility?” You thought out loud, just as confused as Kaede sounded.

“And Ryoma.. He asked me if I was joking or making fun of him. He sounded genuinely hurt..” Kaede told you the last piece of the puzzle. But..

There were still missing pieces. You were not much closer to the truth. There was still something crucial you weren’t aware of. 

You thanked Kaede for her help and hung up the phone. Now only you didn’t have to figure out the mystery of your friend’s weird behavior, but you also needed to take a deeper dive into your feelings for Korekiyo.. And possibly even his feelings for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't be mad about the seesaw prompt. I don't generally care for seesaw jokes, but I saw an opportunity to make it into a meaningful coversation piece, so I did it. I also feel both bad and powerful after ruining that moment with Korekiyo! ;)


	7. Not a Secret Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to return to normalcy after nearly kissing your childhood friend? That is an issue for you to solve..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got around to posting the new chapter. I hope you like it!
> 
> TW: Mildly foul language

The next day you had another science class with your friends. You were a bit worried about seeing Kiibo again, wondering if he would talk to you or continue ignoring you like he did before.

You were waiting in the hallway with Shuichi, Kaito, Kokichi and Angie. Your project partners, Maki and Tsumugi, had yet to show their faces. 

“Man, why can’t we move on to astronomy already? I don’t care about radioactivity, toxicity and shit..” Kaito shook his head, crossing his arms.

“I feel right at home with the current topic!” Kokichi joked, grinning playfully, “‘Cause, you know, people often compare me to toxic waste!” 

“Aren’t you offended by that?” Shuichi questioned, stroking his chin in thought.

“Nope! At least I’m cooler than normal trash!” Kokichi chuckled, an impish glint in his eyes. 

“Even toxic waste was created and is loved by Atua, so don’t feel blue, Kokichi!” Angie smiled, closing her eyes momentarily as if she have had an epiphany.

You were barely listening to your friends’ blabbering, your thoughts consumed by other matters. Where were Maki, Tsumugi and Kiibo? How does Korekiyo feel about yesterday’s events? Should you go to the library today at all, or would it be too awkward?

As if summoned by your thoughts, you noticed a familiar face within the crowd of students. Your heart began to beat faster when you saw him, remembering how close his lips had been to yours..

And that’s when he looked your way, too. Your eyes met and locked onto each other, and you saw him stopping dead in his tracks. You gulped hard, unable to look away or make a move. Korekiyo seemed unsure as well and just stood there, transfixed. 

The air was still and heavy and the rest of the students were mere shadows to you. Your legs urged you to move, your arms yearned to hold and your lips tingled as you replayed the titillating moment in your head again.. As if you hadn’t replayed it in your head at least ten times last evening. You wonder if Korekiyo had lied in his bed, unable to sleep, thinking back to it just like you had.

Korekiyo took one step towards you, still looking a bit uncertain, when some random student bumped into him and yelled at him for blocking the hallway. Korekiyo apologized politely, gave you one last longing, dejected glance and just like that, disappeared into the crowd again. 

“Kiyo!” You managed to shout after him, but he was gone. You weren’t sure if your heart was beating way too fast or way too slow. Everything in front of you appeared in slo-mo. The voices began to swarm back through, pulling you back to reality. 

“Nishishi, it seems like someone might have an itty bitty crush~” Kokichi sang and you whipped around to look at your friends again, trying your hardest not to blush. 

“It’s not like that! I just.. Wanted to catch up with him, that’s all!” You quickly explained, faking a confident smile. 

“Oh, haven’t you been ‘catching up with him’ enough in the library?” Kokichi teased you, making your smile and confidence falter. How did he know?!

“I don’t.. I don’t know what you’re talking about..” You mumbled, averting your gaze. You knew Kokichi would be able to see right through you so there was really no point to fake it anymore.

“(Y/N), no reason to feel embarrassed! We all knew about your library rendezvous already!” Kaito suddenly exclaimed, grinning widely.

“W-What?!” You spluttered, surprised; you didn’t have the slightest clue that they might have known. You had thought it was a secret that only you and Korekiyo knew.

“Atua sees everything! Nyahaha!” Angie laughed, blessing you with a playful wink, “And so does Shuichi apparently!” She revealed. 

“S-Shuichi, have you been.. Stalking me?!” You screeched, clasping your hand in front for your mouth, eyes wide. Shuichi’s cheeks reddened until they were crimson, looking utterly embarrassed. He couldn’t look you in the eyes.

“I-I wasn’t stalking you! It’s just.. Kaede and I have been worried about you, and.. We decided together that we should keep an eye on you.. So I’ve just seen you go to the library a few times and I know Korekiyo is working there, so I just assumed.. I’m so sorry!” He explained, sounding genuinely sorry, and bowed down at you, not daring to meet your eyes.

“You assumed what?” You questioned strictly, causing Shuichi to visibly gulp, “And how did Kokichi, Kaito and Angie know too?! Does everyone know?” You added in panic, trying to figure out the full picture.

“I only told Kaito and Kaede! I swear! Well, before this, that is..” Shuichi defended himself, glaring at Kaito and then Kokichi. 

“It’s true, Shuichi told me. But I didn’t tell a soul!” Kaito quickly exclaimed, looking surprisingly serious.

“Not even Maki?” Angie questioned, shimmying. Kaito averted his gaze, falling silent, “But I didn’t hear about it from Maki or Kaede! They’re not blabbermouths!” 

“Who the hell did you hear it from then, Angie?” You demanded to know, wondering who else could’ve known. 

“Me!” Kokichi laughed, looking proud of himself. 

“What?! How did YOU know?” You turned to face Kokichi, racking your head to figure out this mystery.

“Welp, I just kinda guessed it. And my theory was confirmed judging from your reactions to seeing Korekiyo and to my previous statement! Also, as you were busy staring at Slenderman, Shuichi confessed when I asked him.” Kokichi grinned devilishly. You could really expect nothing less from the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

“So you weren’t even 100% positive but somehow already spilled the beans to Angie?” Kaito gasped and Kokichi nodded, grin widening.

“Yup, sure did! I happened to slip it yesterday when we were working on our science project after school.” He chuckled nonchalantly, hands behind his head. 

“What if you had been mistaken? Isn’t that kinda risky?” Shuichi questioned, cocking his eyebrow. 

“Life is sooo boring without some risk-taking!” Kokichi shrugged. 

“W-Well, that does it even matter that I’m keeping company to Kiyo while he works? It’s not illegal! He’s my childhood friend after all..” You pouted, wanting to move on from this useless back-and-forth.

“No one has said there’s anything wrong with that!” Shuichi quickly answered, looking flustered.

“I just have to wonder.. What have you been up to with him there, all alone in the library, nishishi!” Kokichi teased you, trying to get a reaction out of you. 

“We’ve been talking! Get your mind out of the gutter!” You got a bit defensive; you knew that’s exactly what Kokichi wanted, but you couldn’t contain your reaction. Kokichi raised his eyebrows, grinning mysteriously, as if he had caught you doing something bad.

“I think it’s nice (Y/N) is catching up with Kiyo!” Angie smiled like the ray of sunshine she was, “As long as their  _ relations _ are acceptable in Atua’s eyes!” Her entire demeanor suddenly changed as she pointed at you, her aquatic eyes wide open, her smile suddenly less warm than before. 

“N-Nothing like that has happened, don’t worry!” You quickly replied, wondering how someone so short and cute as Angie can appear so intimidating. 

“(Y/N) isn’t responsible to report what she does in the library. It’s her business. Let’s just lay off..” Shuichi spoke, trying to get you out of the spotlight. 

“Thank you, Shuichi..” You thanked him but in your mind, he wasn’t off the hook just yet. He was the one who had followed you around to begin with.

“But I want to know the tea!” Kokichi pouted, feigning disappointment. 

“Just let poor (Y/N) have some privacy already!” Kaito chimed in, furrowing his eyebrows while staring straight at Kokichi. 

“Whatever..” Kokichi grumbled, giving up momentarily. He acted hurt but you knew him better than that. This all had just been a fun little game to him, and he’s not actually that disappointed that he’s in the dark as he’ll find alternative methods to figuring you out; he’s more disappointed now that the game is over. 

“Oh oh, look who finally decided to show up!” Angie suddenly exclaimed and pointed at the distance. There you saw Maki, Tsumugi and Kiibo, walking towards your group. Seeing Kiibo made you nervous and you felt your throat drying up and your hands becoming clammy. 

“Hi Maki! Just in ti--” Kaito opened up his arms happily before he took another look to Maki’s face, “Wait, Maki, what’s wrong?!” He yelled, dropping his hands. You looked at the group again, now concentrating on Maki and Tsumugi.

Maki didn’t look that much different. The only thing that gave her mood away were her puffy, red eyes. And by that you didn’t refer to her eye color, but that the whites of her eyes were also redder than usual. 

Tsumugi on the other hand wasn’t able to hide her emotions at all; not only were her eyes red and puffy too, her hair was messy, her lips trembling and eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Her entire body was shaking ever so slightly. 

“Maki, Tsumugi, are you alright?” Shuichi asked them both, worried. 

“Have you been crying?” You asked them, wanting to reach out and hug them both. 

“W.. Why…” Tsumugi sniffed, drying her eyes with a handkerchief. Her hands were so unsteady that she nearly dropped her handkerchief. 

“Why what?” Angie questioned, her eyebrows furrowed and her ever-present smile gone.

“Maki, talk to me!” Kaito exclaimed, holding Maki by her shoulders. She looked away, trying her best to hide her sadness, but failing miserably. She must have been in a lot of agony as even she couldn’t hide it.

“...” Maki didn’t answer right away, biting her lip, “Let’s just go to the classroom..” She mumbled and tried to yank herself free from Kaito’s grasp. Kaito let her go, but instead grabbed her by her wrist. 

“Don’t we have something to discuss?” He questioned, his voice unusually soft. Maki looked at Kaito for a moment before shaking her head.

“Not now.. I don’t want to talk about it now.. Maybe later..” She sighed deeply, her eyes now downcast.

“What about you Tsumugi, do you want to talk about whatever has happened?” Shuichi turned to Tsumugi who was still shaking. 

“I-I can’t!” She sobbed, doing her best to hold her tears in, “I c-can’t talk a-about it without b-breaking down.. It h-hurts too m-much!” She explained before burying her face in her hands. 

“O-Oh, sorry about.. Asking..” Shuichi apologized, feeling bad that he had reminded Tsumugi of something hurtful.

“I-It’s alright..” Tsumugi whimpered from behind her hands. 

Seeing your friends so distraught made you feel shitty but you felt like there was nothing you could do about it. If they weren’t ready to talk about it, you couldn’t offer them much consolation. Now that you thought about it, their reaction kind of reminded you of Miu’s breakdown. Could they be related? 

Before you could think about your theory further, the bell rang, signaling that your science class was about to begin. Sighing, you and your friends made their way to the classroom, taking your own respective places.

…

During the science class, Maki’s and Tsumugi’s weird behavior continued. Although you were supposed to work together on the science project, they did all the work, ignoring your requests and additions. You accounted it to the grieving or that Kiibo had said something about you to them as they did arrive together. Nonetheless, Maki and Tsumugi ignoring you made your heart ache. 

After the otherwise uneventful school day, you had an inner argument on whether you should go to the library to see Korekiyo or not; on one hand, Korekiyo was your friend, you wanted to update him on your situation, you wanted to see if he agreed that Maki’s and Tsumugi’s behavior was related to Miu’s behavior, apologize to him about leaving so suddenly the day before and.. Well, you just really wanted to see him. 

But on the other hand, you worry that yesterday made things awkward between you, not to mention the brief meeting in the hallway. You also didn’t know if it was okay to visit him every day, or would he find your presence suffocating or distracting. You didn’t know how to face him; should you bring up yesterday’s events or pretend as if they didn’t even happen.

With those thoughts in mind, you decided against going to the library that day, as much as it saddened you. You wanted to give Korekiyo; and to some extent yourself; some space to breathe and time to process what your friendship meant to the both of you. You had enough thinking to do with the latest developments, anyway. 

Once you arrived at your place, you decided to start on your homework and listen to some music. Jamming to the tunes, you wrote on your essay and snacked on some fruit. Sometimes amidst the chaos that was your social life, you nearly forgot about other everyday responsibilities, and you were somewhat late from your original school work schedule. 

Your flow was interrupted by a sudden message. You looked at the time; it was 5 pm. You lazily picked up your phone and saw that the message was from Korekiyo. Your face heated up and you were scared of looking at the message; what if he was scolding you? Or what if he told you that he didn’t want to be your friend anymore? Or maybe he has some bad news..

Ignoring the dread in your gut, you opened the message. 

**Kork** : Hello. Just wanted to check on you as you did not choose to visit me today. Is everything alright? 

You let out a relieved sigh before replying. At least he didn’t seem mad.

**You** : Hi Kiyo! Yeah, I’m just catching up on some school work! How are things? :)

Korekiyo replied almost immediately. Must have been another quiet afternoon in the library..

**Kork** : We need to talk. 

Your heart nearly stopped when you read that message. Technically you KNEW you needed to have a conversation but those four words always sound ominous, no matter who is saying them.

**You** : Talk about what? 

You asked for clarification because you didn’t want any misunderstandings. 

**Kork** : About us. 

Now your heart was instead beating way too fast, drumming against your ribcage as if it wanted to break free. Us? 

**You** : Quit being so taciturn! You’re making me worried! T^T

What were you? What was Korekiyo thinking? What were YOU thinking? It’s as if all of your troubles decided that  _ oh, the first few weeks of school are the best time to appear! _

**Kork** : That was not my intention. My apologies. I just really need to talk to you..

He NEEDED to talk to you? That sounded serious. You feared the worst even when Korekiyo had said he hadn’t meant to make you worry.

**You** : Well, talk to me. You can text it, right?

You weren’t sure if you wanted to have this conversation face-to-face, as you didn’t know where you stood and wanted to think your responses thoroughly.

**Kork** : I would rather have this conversation face-to-face. Is that okay with you?

Damnit! Well, people usually recommend having important conversations face-to-face so maybe you were the one that had to compromise here.

**You** : Fine.. I’m a bit anxious lol but where do you wanna meet? When? :) 

You mentally facepalmed at your behavior. 

**Kork** : Can you come to visit my place tomorrow after my library shift? 

Huh, that was an odd request.. You hadn’t been to Korekiyo’s place in a long time. 

**You** : Why not at the library? 

You asked the obvious question, knowing that his shift ended at six, so you would go to his place rather late. 

**Kork** : I would like to have this conversation with you in private. The library is quiet, but there is always the possibility that someone interrupts us or spies on us.

Why did Korekiyo want to have this talk in private? He clearly didn’t want an audience. In a way, a public place would be better, as in if things went wrong it’d be easy to just run away, but you understood Korekiyo’s point of view.

**You** : Okay, I’ll meet you tomorrow.. Funny that you mention someone spying on us tho, my friends were teasing me about our library meetings today haha

The memory was embarrassing at the time, but now that some hours have passed it seems a bit funny. Many good memories are born like that. You couldn’t help but smile, thinking about your friends.

**Kork** : Oh? How did they find out about our meetings? 

You’ve clearly piqued Korekiyo’s intrigue with that one. Smiling, you type the following message.

**You** : Shuichi has been keeping an eye on me because Kaede and him have been worried about me. You know, he’s quite an expert at finding out information without leaving any trails!

Shuichi’s skills and natural sneakiness has proved to be useful in many situations; but this was the first time it has been used “against” you.

**Kork** : Saihara is very talented indeed. But it was only a matter of time before someone would have noticed, I reckon. I hope he did not cause you any trouble after finding out. 

You giggled at his response. Always so caring, even when most people in your school seemed to think he was completely emotional and even downright cruel. But you knew better. Or maybe you were just the exception.

**You** : Nooo, Saihara was chill about it, but Kokichi did tease me a bit.. But it was all fun and games anyway! :D

The next response took Korekiyo a little longer to send. You kinda thought he had gone AFK already, but just when you were about to resume your homework, he began typing.

**Kork** : That sounds like typical Oma. I have to go now. Someone came to the library.

You felt a bit sad reading that message as you would’ve liked to talk to him for longer.

**You** : Okay! Good luck! See you tomorrow! :)

You typed quickly, hoping that Korekiyo could catch it before going offline. To your delight, he sent one last message. 

**Kork** : Cannot wait. Goodbye. 

The way Korekiyo typed was just so him. Proper and smart, although not very expressive. It was hard to know what was going in his mind when he didn’t use any emoticons, but you were quite used to it. He didn’t use any social media, so the way you communicated was text messages; not Whatsapp, Snapchat, Instagram DMs or any other messaging application; but good ol’ default texting app.

Feeling slightly more giddy than before, you returned to your schoolwork. Tomorrow worried you a bit, but it was the conversation that you absolutely needed to have. There was no going around it. After you’ve nearly kissed your friend, you cannot simply go back without any rebriefing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this was a bit short, but I hope you still liked it! The next chapter will be longer, I promise :)


End file.
